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Truth -vs- Facts

I got a new camera recently and am enjoying it.  Yeah it's cool (a Nikon D3000) but that is not the reason I enjoy it.  I enjoy it because it shows things for what they are.  Let me explain.

First of all, I'm not that great of photographer but I enjoy looking at pretty things and the camera forces me to take time to do so.  The other thing that camera's do is not being subjective.  When a picture is taken, it is what it is.  It does not place a narrative overtone of what you are seeing, it just shows you the facts.

Which brings us to how this is related to software engineering.

In any meeting or discussion that occurs with software engineers about technology, design or technique, it's can be difficult to determine what are "facts" about an issue from the different versions of "truth" from engineers.  Truth is not the same as facts, facts don't change.  The sun rises every morning but the truth of why the sun rises may change with culture and belief.  The same is for issues in software development and of life.  The hard part for oneself is to understand which is which when we think or speak (speaking does not require thinking).



My facts are that I just enjoy designing and programming.  My truth is I try to make others life easier around me when I do design and program.  My other truth is that I don't try to convince others of my truth.

When you can decipher facts from truth you can envision solutions for designs and implementations that are unencumbered by differing truths.

Next time: I Code for Others.

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