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When in Doubt: Applying the Programmer’s Debugging Mindset to Your Everyday Life
If a simple change of mindset could help you improve the quality of your relationships, your work and your day-to-day life... Would you try it?
In When in Doubt, the reader is encouraged to turn self-doubt into a tool that can be used to their advantage in order to produce better results at most of their endeavours.
Extracted from the author’s programming experience, the principle behind this book serves as a foundation for a mindset that the reader can use to “debug” the aspects of their life that they are not satisfied with.
"The principle behind this book is not going to make you rich, successful or popular overnight. However, if applied correctly, this simple change of mindset can help you to improve your relationships. It can help you to get that raise that you are hoping for. It can help you increase your quality of life on a day to day basis. Although its contents are derived from a programmers mindset, When in Doubt is written in simple words that anyone can understand. Whether you are a high school student, an executive, an artist, a retired fisherman or anything in between, you can take advantage of this book's lessons and use them to better your life in almost every aspect."
In When in Doubt, the reader is encouraged to turn self-doubt into a tool that can be used to their advantage in order to produce better results at most of their endeavours.
Extracted from the author’s programming experience, the principle behind this book serves as a foundation for a mindset that the reader can use to “debug” the aspects of their life that they are not satisfied with.
"The principle behind this book is not going to make you rich, successful or popular overnight. However, if applied correctly, this simple change of mindset can help you to improve your relationships. It can help you to get that raise that you are hoping for. It can help you increase your quality of life on a day to day basis. Although its contents are derived from a programmers mindset, When in Doubt is written in simple words that anyone can understand. Whether you are a high school student, an executive, an artist, a retired fisherman or anything in between, you can take advantage of this book's lessons and use them to better your life in almost every aspect."
64 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 10, 2020
I have really mixed feelings on this book so will try to make this as balanced as possible. This little book (60 pages in print) aims to provide you with a tool to improve areas of your life including relationships, work and every day life. How? By turning self-doubt into a the tool; if you’re in doubt, then assume you’re wrong and it will help you work through your problem.
For me, as someone that suffers with anxiety, I’m not sure this would be the best mind-set to get into. I try to live my life as positively as possible and focussing more on self-doubt, even as a positive tool would set me back. But this is just my own personal opinion. Perron does go into the drawbacks of his approach in the book and he does mention the negative side of things, so he is aware of this. This approach won’t be for everyone.
However, if you are a process driven person this would be fantastic. The book talks you through analysing your thoughts and actions to ensure you’re not wrong; basically before you accuse someone else of a mistake and apportion blame. Which is a good way of behaving – how many times would it have saved each of us from tricky situations?!
Perron talks us through his approach and then gives us some practical examples of how you could implement the approach in your life. I found it hard to relate to the programming example, although it did make the approach a bit clearer. The one thing I did really like about this book is some of the positive aspects Perron talks about. At the end of the book he gives us 21 little tips and tricks, not all related to the approach, which are all valid and important things we should think about. I also liked that he mentions Imposter Syndrome which, I’m sure, has been a problem for many of us (and if you’ve never heard of it, google it and you’ll completely get it!)
There are also some other brilliant little nuggets in here as Perron talks about staying open-minded, stress and more. I especially liked the section about memory priming – something I haven’t heard of before – this will be invaluable to my note taking and memory for uni for the next 3 years, so thank you Emile!!
The book is written in a really easy style and it feels like you’re having a chat with a mate which is nice. It’s not preachy and does recognise that each person will find their own way with the principles the book presents; it’s down to you to work with the approach and figure out how it works best for you.
So overall, I would say this book is definitely worth a read if you’re into self-help and altering of mindsets. However, be aware that the approach won’t work for everyone; but if it’s not for you, you will still come away with some fantastic nuggets of information. And if it is for you, then fantastic! I’d love to know how you get on!
For me, as someone that suffers with anxiety, I’m not sure this would be the best mind-set to get into. I try to live my life as positively as possible and focussing more on self-doubt, even as a positive tool would set me back. But this is just my own personal opinion. Perron does go into the drawbacks of his approach in the book and he does mention the negative side of things, so he is aware of this. This approach won’t be for everyone.
However, if you are a process driven person this would be fantastic. The book talks you through analysing your thoughts and actions to ensure you’re not wrong; basically before you accuse someone else of a mistake and apportion blame. Which is a good way of behaving – how many times would it have saved each of us from tricky situations?!
Perron talks us through his approach and then gives us some practical examples of how you could implement the approach in your life. I found it hard to relate to the programming example, although it did make the approach a bit clearer. The one thing I did really like about this book is some of the positive aspects Perron talks about. At the end of the book he gives us 21 little tips and tricks, not all related to the approach, which are all valid and important things we should think about. I also liked that he mentions Imposter Syndrome which, I’m sure, has been a problem for many of us (and if you’ve never heard of it, google it and you’ll completely get it!)
There are also some other brilliant little nuggets in here as Perron talks about staying open-minded, stress and more. I especially liked the section about memory priming – something I haven’t heard of before – this will be invaluable to my note taking and memory for uni for the next 3 years, so thank you Emile!!
The book is written in a really easy style and it feels like you’re having a chat with a mate which is nice. It’s not preachy and does recognise that each person will find their own way with the principles the book presents; it’s down to you to work with the approach and figure out how it works best for you.
So overall, I would say this book is definitely worth a read if you’re into self-help and altering of mindsets. However, be aware that the approach won’t work for everyone; but if it’s not for you, you will still come away with some fantastic nuggets of information. And if it is for you, then fantastic! I’d love to know how you get on!
July 9, 2020
The premise of the book, turning self-doubt into a tool for many everyday situations really piqued my curosity. I bought the book and like for many other mindset/self-help books, I was eager to learn more about approaching life differently. The author seems to have a mindset that really works for him and is very willing to share it with others, but unfortunately, his technique is lost in its explanations. In four chapters, the book barely scratch the surface on many subjects and the lenghty explanations make it quite hard to grasp what the author tries to convey. Many of the examples don't fit very well the point that is tried to be made and could be shortened to get across faster. At some point, there are words that are repeated often in short sections, making it confusing to read and making the point weak. There is a section with examples about programming and the author assure the reader that he does not need any knowledge to understand and he will even provide explanations. I am well versed in technologies to understand the matter, but after 2-3 sentences, the author stops to explaining some very technical words and acronyms. To the layperson, it might feel very confusing to be suddenly dropped in the middle of an example without any context.
I found it incredibly hard to thread smoothly through because the book has some lenghty passsages with weak examples. What would have take me one sitting to swift through, took many sessions because I was losing interest more and more. The book repeats "the mindset, the mindset", but I have yet to grasp what it is, I can't make up a general picture for myself. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I have gained new insight or mindset reading the book and it barely satisfied my apetite. I did not feel the connection between debugging and applying the techniques to a real-life mindset, even though I'm involved in the IT field.
I found it incredibly hard to thread smoothly through because the book has some lenghty passsages with weak examples. What would have take me one sitting to swift through, took many sessions because I was losing interest more and more. The book repeats "the mindset, the mindset", but I have yet to grasp what it is, I can't make up a general picture for myself. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I have gained new insight or mindset reading the book and it barely satisfied my apetite. I did not feel the connection between debugging and applying the techniques to a real-life mindset, even though I'm involved in the IT field.
October 8, 2020
If you've ever lost something, looked for it for days and then found it somewhere you thought it would never be, or shouted at a machine telling it that it is useless; then this is probably the book for you.
The author is here to help us solve problems, improve ourselves and our relationships, all with the help of the mindset of a programmer. The premise of this book is "when in doubt, assume you're wrong". It's not easy, because why would you doubt yourself? But if you begin from this view point you will find yourself getting answers so much faster.
You don't need to know how to code to understand this book, just come with an open mind to try a new way of looking at the world. In a very short time (it's not a long book) you will be equipped with a different mindset to help you.
The author is here to help us solve problems, improve ourselves and our relationships, all with the help of the mindset of a programmer. The premise of this book is "when in doubt, assume you're wrong". It's not easy, because why would you doubt yourself? But if you begin from this view point you will find yourself getting answers so much faster.
You don't need to know how to code to understand this book, just come with an open mind to try a new way of looking at the world. In a very short time (it's not a long book) you will be equipped with a different mindset to help you.
October 7, 2020
When in doubt, assume you're wrong.
Emile has worked in computer programming and understands the complexities of de-bugging. In this book we learn how de-bugging can be adapted to every day life and the problems we face and their solutions.
It is a quick read and there are various elements to digest.
At first I found this hard to comprehend as I have been on my own journey recently and when you are trying to make yourself feel better, accepting your wrong feels like a contradiction.
That said I found the analogies used in this book to be useful and thought provoking and will be something I will come back to time and again.
⭐⭐⭐
Emile has worked in computer programming and understands the complexities of de-bugging. In this book we learn how de-bugging can be adapted to every day life and the problems we face and their solutions.
It is a quick read and there are various elements to digest.
At first I found this hard to comprehend as I have been on my own journey recently and when you are trying to make yourself feel better, accepting your wrong feels like a contradiction.
That said I found the analogies used in this book to be useful and thought provoking and will be something I will come back to time and again.
⭐⭐⭐
May 27, 2020
simple to understand and very usefull! loved it
October 14, 2020
Curiosity is what brought me to this book, this year has been…a lot…so I thought why not have a look and see if I could apply this technique to my life and whether I think it would be successful.
I always find that books like this tell you things that you kind of already know or could easily figure out but often you need reminded of it or to hear it from an outside source to take it in. The concept that the author has come up with is very simple to understand and there are examples in the book to give a little more depth, but I like that it can be open to interpretation and sometimes you can come away from a point with an insight about yourself that you maybe wouldn’t have noticed before.
I was a little surprised that the technique involves doubting yourself but actually the more I read on the more I discovered that I am someone that tends to react immediately and with high-intensity emotions, so actually taking a pause and assessing myself and what emotions I am feeling and why is probably going to be very beneficial for me.
When In Doubt is short but sweet and is the kind of book that you could easily dip in and out of, I’m hoping that it will make some difference in my life but only time will tell.
Originally posted on everywhere and nowhere
I always find that books like this tell you things that you kind of already know or could easily figure out but often you need reminded of it or to hear it from an outside source to take it in. The concept that the author has come up with is very simple to understand and there are examples in the book to give a little more depth, but I like that it can be open to interpretation and sometimes you can come away from a point with an insight about yourself that you maybe wouldn’t have noticed before.
Regret is a poison, but finding the courage to face your fears and do the things that scare you the most is the cure.
I was a little surprised that the technique involves doubting yourself but actually the more I read on the more I discovered that I am someone that tends to react immediately and with high-intensity emotions, so actually taking a pause and assessing myself and what emotions I am feeling and why is probably going to be very beneficial for me.
When In Doubt is short but sweet and is the kind of book that you could easily dip in and out of, I’m hoping that it will make some difference in my life but only time will tell.
Originally posted on everywhere and nowhere
January 15, 2021
Thank you to Love book tours and the author for my kindle version of this book in return for my own honest review.
At Only 35 pages long this is one of the quickest books I have read, It is very powerful, have you ever lost anything only for it to be found in the first place you looked? Emile has done a fantastic job with his book, it will help to solve your problems, and even help with your relationships, after reading this I have a very different mindset on how to overcome anything that is thrown at me.
At Only 35 pages long this is one of the quickest books I have read, It is very powerful, have you ever lost anything only for it to be found in the first place you looked? Emile has done a fantastic job with his book, it will help to solve your problems, and even help with your relationships, after reading this I have a very different mindset on how to overcome anything that is thrown at me.
October 10, 2020
This is a short self help book, which is different to any I have come across before. The principle is that the author is taking a programming approach to the mind and how applying the same kind of principles can affect your beliefs and help with any self doubt. There was quite a bit of technical stuff in here that I found it hard to get my head round but the basic principle was clear enough, and could help people approach their self doubt a bit differently.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews