2. JAMES EDWARD GRAY II
•I have been in the Ruby community a moderately long time
•Ihave written code, books, and other documentation, plus
organized events
•Ihave now given a talk at every Lone Star Ruby Conference (if
you will allow one by video proxy)
•I am currently giving my first keynote address!
11. …the keynote address… is delivered
to set the underlying tone
and summarize the core message
or most important revelation of the event.
Definition from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynote
15. A STUDY OF
GREAT KEYNOTES
• Speakers tend to talk about what’s important to them
• They relate personal anecdotes to our lives as Rubyists
• Such speeches are usually light on code and heavy on ideas
• It’s common to talk about the future
• The goal seems to be to inspire the audience
24. I GOOGLED IT
•Iknow it sounds weird but you can put cabbage leaves on
your breasts and it will dry your milk out! I did it and it works.
25. I GOOGLED IT
•Iknow it sounds weird but you can put cabbage leaves on
your breasts and it will dry your milk out! I did it and it works.
• Cool cabbage compresses will reduce swelling quickly, and if
left in place for long periods will help diminish milk supply. This
method may be used instead of or in addition to removing
small amounts of milk to reduce supply. Use fresh green
leaves, cleaned and chilled, wrapped around the breasts.
Change them about every two hours.
31. I doubt that!
I doubt that!
WHAT DO SKEPTICS DO?
Photo from http://rubyhacker.com/
32. THE TRAITS OF A SKEPTIC
• Questions authority (respectfully, of course)
•A questioning attitude of knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs
stated as facts
• Suspended judgement and systemic doubt
• Requires all new information to be well supported by
evidence
39. LOGICAL FALLACIES
•I know it sounds weird but… put cabbage… on your breasts
• Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (appeal to ignorance)
40. LOGICAL FALLACIES
•I know it sounds weird but… put cabbage… on your breasts
• Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (appeal to ignorance)
• Cool cabbage compresses… for long periods… diminish milk
41. LOGICAL FALLACIES
•I know it sounds weird but… put cabbage… on your breasts
• Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (appeal to ignorance)
• Cool cabbage compresses… for long periods… diminish milk
• Confusing association with causation
42. LOGICAL FALLACIES
•I know it sounds weird but… put cabbage… on your breasts
• Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (appeal to ignorance)
• Cool cabbage compresses… for long periods… diminish milk
• Confusing association with causation
• Breast Feeding Nazi: “Put cabbage on your breast to dry up”
43. LOGICAL FALLACIES
•I know it sounds weird but… put cabbage… on your breasts
• Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (appeal to ignorance)
• Cool cabbage compresses… for long periods… diminish milk
• Confusing association with causation
• Breast Feeding Nazi: “Put cabbage on your breast to dry up”
• Argument from authority
51. PROGRAMMING FALLACIES
• That [language construct] shouldn’t be used because it’s [evil]
• Argument from final consequences (teleological)
52. PROGRAMMING FALLACIES
• That [language construct] shouldn’t be used because it’s [evil]
• Argument from final consequences (teleological)
• [Some tool] is better than [other tool]
53. PROGRAMMING FALLACIES
• That [language construct] shouldn’t be used because it’s [evil]
• Argument from final consequences (teleological)
• [Some tool] is better than [other tool]
• The toupee fallacy (counting hits and ignoring misses)
54. PROGRAMMING FALLACIES
• That [language construct] shouldn’t be used because it’s [evil]
• Argument from final consequences (teleological)
• [Some tool] is better than [other tool]
• The toupee fallacy (counting hits and ignoring misses)
• We rewrote it in [language] and now it is [amazing]
55. PROGRAMMING FALLACIES
• That [language construct] shouldn’t be used because it’s [evil]
• Argument from final consequences (teleological)
• [Some tool] is better than [other tool]
• The toupee fallacy (counting hits and ignoring misses)
• We rewrote it in [language] and now it is [amazing]
• Confusing association with causation
74. Glenn can and should give
his Real Software Engineering talk,
essentially unchanged, at basically any
conference that'll have him.
It's a fantastic talk,
and it's just as valuable the third time
you've seen it as the first.
Ben Scofield to the RubyConf Organizers mailing list
80. REFRESHER:
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
• You start by making observations
• This leads you to form a hypothesis
• You try to prove yourself wrong
• You submit the idea for peer review
• We always go forward with the best understanding we
currently have
93. RECENT INSPIRATIONS
• Avdi Grimm’s Vituous Code blog and Exceptional Ruby book
• Aaron Patterson’s improvements to Rails
• GregoryBrown’s Ruby Mendicant University and Practicing
Ruby essays
