What To Do When You Need Higher-Quality Output

The brain, software, and a random platitude.

Photo by Ahmed Zayan on Unsplash

Have you ever noticed that it’s easier to see how others’ ideas are incomplete or flawed? Why is it that we can feedback and critique the plans of others better than we can our own?

The best analogy is the quote about a fish in a bowl.

“What does the fish know of the water in which it swims?”

-Or something like that. Pretty sure it was Einstein.

I think this is a nice picture that makes the point, but I also think that fish are pretty dumb—so there’s that.

I think the punchline is ultimately the same, anyway. If you’re working on a project and you want to make it better, bring in a thought partner. Not a friend. Not your Uncle Larry. A thought partner.

One of the reasons thinking out loud is so useful with a thought partner is because you’re thinking about more than you otherwise would be alone. Not only are you actually using additional brain resources for verbalizing thoughts, but you’re also thinking about how your thought partner is hearing what you’re saying. Your brain is just more active than it would be if you were alone.

I’ve tried to simulate this with journaling. Anecdotally, I think I’ve been able to get close since it forces me to try and speak to someone, but it’s not 100% the same.

In software, there’s a term for this, it’s called “pair programming.” Instead of one developer writing a bunch of code alone, two developers pair up and write the code together. Yes, two brains are better than one. Yes, there’s more capacity. But the main thing is that those two brains are thinking about different things simultaneously and that’s the magic. One is focused on the syntax of the code while the other is thinking about how this might interact with other parts of the codebase.

This technique isn’t just for coding. You can use it for copywriting and editing, or talking through an idea.

Software developed with pair programming is freer of errors and requires less refactoring (the process of going back and making the code more efficient, it’s like proof-reading).

Hope this little nugget is helpful, today.