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Dublin Anondson
Dublin Anondson

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Rubber Ducks: Do they even Work?

I replied to a comment on Ben Halpern's post on getting out of debugging ruts and it got me thinking about how I've always had more success talking to a real person over an inanimate object.

I know talking to rubber ducks is a often recommended way to talk through problems by yourself. But I feel like it lacks some pizazz that makes it useful for me.

To all you dev folks out there, has a rubber ducking worked for you, or was talking to a person significantly better?

Top comments (3)

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jacobherrington profile image
Jacob Herrington (he/him)

So I don't rubber duck debug very often, but virtually every time I pair with a junior and make the effort to articulate what I'm doing AND why -- opaque problems that I'd normally be frustrated by become obvious.

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danondso profile image
Dublin Anondson

I think exercising that learning part of your brain is the best, you don't know until you teach sometimes.

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nickholmesde profile image
Nick Holmes

Talk to other people? Srsly?