Filed under: Milestones
Ahhh, Snyder’s chapter 7 (To Err is Human: An Introduction about Debugging); had I only read it 7 months earlier, I’d be $100 richer! As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I would not consider myself proficient in IT. I am not entirely comfortable with all the workings of the computer and the minute a problem arises, I am the first to call the always helpful (and always expensive) “IT guy.” Snyder’s chapter 7 hit strikingly close to home and once again made me feel a little foolish. As an example of debugging, Snyder outlined a scenario in which a person discovered that documents were not printing simply because computer settings were configured to “queue” files as opposed to “print” them. Having experienced this exact problem, and having paid somebody $100 for a 15-minute house visit, I really appreciate this chapter. To others, it may seem obvious; you have a problem, you deduce possible causes and plug away until you’ve isolated the error. And in other aspects of my life, that is an obvious process; a process I follow nearly everyday. Although I consider myself an intelligent person and a capable problem-solver, there is something about IT problems, that make me automatically assume that it is “over my head.” But Snyder’s point that 99% of errors are caused by human mistakes simplified the process for me. I realized that I am not looking for a “bug” caused by this complex system of software and hardware and programs and memory. I am most likely looking for a “bug” caused by something I did. (The same way I find myself looking for a reason why my macaroni and cheese is so runny…I added too much water). It doesn’t have to be as complex as I perceive it to be. Approaching the task of debugging thinking that I am looking for a mistake that I made, as opposed to a mistake made by the complex computer, eases my nerves and increases my confidence in my ability to solve the problem. Lack of confidence and high anxiety are two primary reasons I had always relied on the “professionals.”
