@benwerd never forget your own. If you neglect yourself, how can you help? Scratching your itches teaches valuing people over plumbing, empathy over architecture, and reduces abstraction arrogance. Too many technologists presume to help others, when they cannot even help themselves. Worse than not helping, they distract everyone else with painful user experiences, or shiny products that delight then die from neglect or acquishutdowns, since the technologist had no personal stake (itch) in them. Scratch your own itches to develop and grow your ability to empathize, to selfdogfood and fix problems before others are affected, and to give yourself a stake in your work, so you can empathize with everyone else, help them, and earn their trust.

@benwerd never forget your own.
If you neglect yourself, how can you help?
Scratching your itches teaches valuing people over plumbing, empathy over architecture, and reduces abstraction arrogance.

Too many technologists presume to help others, when they cannot even help themselves.

Worse than not helping, they distract everyone else with painful user experiences, or shiny products that delight then die from neglect or acquishutdowns, since the technologist had no personal stake (itch) in them.

Scratch your own itches to develop and grow your ability to empathize, to selfdogfood and fix problems before others are affected, and to give yourself a stake in your work, so you can empathize with everyone else, help them, and earn their trust.