A software engineer and hobbyist DJ shares lessons from DJing that translate directly to software development work. Key takeaways include: never trusting 'it works on my machine' when deploying to new environments, handling last-minute non-technical stakeholder requests by finding creative compromises, debugging production systems in real time without disrupting end users, reframing mistakes as less catastrophic than they feel, and building confidence through repeated exposure to uncomfortable situations. The talk also touches on research showing that creative hobbies activate the prefrontal cortex — the same brain region used for planning, decision-making, and problem-solving — suggesting that non-coding hobbies can meaningfully improve a developer's professional skills.
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