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The Power of Boring · The Self-Improving Developer

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It’s more fun to try new things, to come up with a new strategy, to make sweeping changes to your product. But at some point, you have to hunker down and start chipping on that boulder. I see it in myself and in others: we put a lot of time and energy into the fascinating, the new, the weird. Ooh, there’s a new development paradigm! Ah, this programming language does something I’ve never seen before! Look, this build system is written in Haskell! This is how you learn new stuff. It’s important that you explore novel territories. Some of these things could potentially make you more productive. But often, if you want to get things done, all you need to do is: The software you use and rely on every day is almost always built using “boring” technologies. Do you search on Google? That’s handled mostly by good old C++ on the backend, and almost-vanilla-JS on the front end. Do you use Figma? C++ again. Do you play indie video games? Most are built in C#. Do you have a favorite mobile app? Man

There’s a saying among the founders of the startup world: When things get boring, you know you’re on the right track. It’s more fun to try new things, to come up with a new strategy, to make sweeping changes to your product. But at some point, you have to hunker down and start chipping on that boulder. I see it in myself and in others: we put a lot of time and energy into the fascinating, the new, the weird. Ooh, there’s a new development paradigm! Ah, this programming language does something I’ve never seen before! Look, this build system is written in Haskell! This is how you learn new stuff

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