Fran's Blog

As a programmer, I am well into its different methodologies. Not all are completely serious, but all carry a message. My favourites being KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) and DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself). Something I discovered recently was that there is a Rubber Duck methodology which is described at Jaffa Monkey:

1) Beg, borrow, steal, buy, fabricate or otherwise obtain a rubber duck (bathtub variety)
2) Place rubber duck on desk and inform it you are just going to go over some code with it, if that’s all right.
3) Explain to the duck what you code is supposed to do, and then go into detail and explain things line by line
4) At some point you will tell the duck what you are doing next and then realise that that is not in fact what you are actually doing. The duck will sit there serenely, happy in the knowledge that it has helped you on your way.

Interestingly, I have been doing this for some time unknowingly. I do have a rubber duck that was given to me a few years back. His name is Baxter. Baxter sits on my desk and ponders life. He rarely leaves that spot, and sometimes gets lost in paper and thought. Until I get some work that requires some brain power, at which point he becomes my sound board.

I actually think this is a fantastic thing. So many of us internalise our thoughts, which is fine. But sometimes saying them aloud just helps. I’d recommend anyone to do this with anything that requires thought. I think Baxter might become my therapist now. Here’s to Baxter.