>'Rubber duck debugging' is a method used by programmers to debug code by verbally explaining it to an inanimate object
...What? Do people actually do this? I've always thought it was just a myth.

>>105937119 (OP)
No, there's just a wikipedia page with references to published books that mention it for a laugh.

I do it regularly and in multiple forms. Pacing in the hallway explaining the problem to myself (in my head) is my primary way of checking if my design has holes in it. The goal is "how can I break this"/"how/why is this broken".

>>105937119 (OP)
nowadays we do this conversation with an ai instead of a rubber duck but yes

>>105937119 (OP)
talk through problems? Yes

>>105937119 (OP)
The less often discussed black rubber dick debugging is gaining steam as memory safe languages grow in popularity for kernel and device driver development.

>>105937119 (OP)
Anyone else noticed it’s impossible to get good quality rubber ducks nowadays? I lost mine and was looking to get a replacement. But everything sold in stores is really bad quality.

>>105937747
See >>105937741

The world moved on, old man.

>>105937119 (OP)
Talking in your mind and talking out loud activates different parts of your brain and can lead to insights. It's not just for debugging, it's useful in general.

>>105937747
We've moved on from Rubber Ducks to Labubu debugging.

I just thought about this. If you have very important stuff on your USB flash drive it could be a good idea to make a regular USB drive look like a Rubber Ducky. If you ever lose it, no one would ever insert this into their computer.

I just thought about this. If you have very important stuff on your USB flash drive it could be a good idea to disguise a regular USB drive and make it look like a Rubber Ducky. If you ever lose it, no one would ever insert this into their computer.

>>105937119 (OP)
I experience oracular visions that tell me how I can fix bugs while taking long walks.

>>105937119 (OP)
It actually works. More than half the time when I get stuck on something I go explain the problem to a more senior engineer and I figure it out myself by explaining it.

>>105938065
This is known. Many great mathematicians and scientists have talked about this.
A lot of problem solving is done subconsciously. A walk, shower, etc. is likely to give you some ideaa.

>>105937119 (OP)
I do this in my own head. I am the duck I explain things to. Quack quack!

>>105937119 (OP)
NOT with a Rubber Ducky but when debugging I write in natural pseudo code what I want the code to do and compare to see if I can pinpoint the error.

>>105937695
this, brainstorming is my main use of AI by far.

Sometimes silly things can be useful. Human cognition isn't perfect.
Ironically it's also the best way to use AI slop when you're programming.

>>105937119 (OP)
I practice rubber duck psychology but I've never tried it for debugging

>>105937909
If it were a rubber duck, someone would take it apart and dump flash, looking to steal your warez

>>105937119 (OP)
I explain to my [spoiler]wife[/spoiler], which offers the same experience as the duck

I do this but instead of explaining code to a rubber duck I yell racial slurs in front of my anime figures when things don't work.

>>105937119 (OP)
It seems to be low IQ thing.
I don't think I would be able to easily verbalize most of the concepts I hold in my head as I reason about code.

>>105937119 (OP)
It kind of works
Sometimes when I'm in the middle of writing a message asking for help, something clicks and the solution just appears out of the blue
It's not the duck itself, it's how trying to explain the problem verbally specifically to someone else helps you solve it

>>105942152
Wow! You're so sophisticated and amazing! Can we see your penis?

>>105937119 (OP)
no, but i do pair programming with my tulpa.

>>105942187
>You're so sophisticated
Lol no. Maybe if I studied all this type theory and abstract algebra bullshit I would have known how to name things properly.

>>105942152
>I don't think I would be able to easily verbalize most of the concepts I hold in my head as I reason about code.
Unironically a low IQ thing

>>105942326
Are you thinking in non-euclidean geometric patterns or something?

I just explain my problem to a woman and the terror of her answering and ne having to listen to a woman makws me realize the solution quickly

>>105937119 (OP)
its just euphemism for mentally ill. trust me. stable person wont doing that rubber duck debugging. they debug in their head.

>>105942363
Not him but do you think purely in language?

>>105942592
If you can't describe it you don't understand it

>>105942592
No, but i can generally very easily verbalize the image/ feeling/ concept of my thoughts.

>>105937119 (OP)
I've solved a few issues by just explaining it to my boss and colleagues in a meeting and then suddenly it went *pling* in my head and the solution was there.
Of course that only works when you work for a company where your manager is not a total dickhead.

>>105942416
But what if it made your job better by doing it? Have you tried?

>>105942416
>stable person
Why would anyone want that?

>>105942793
>explaining it to my boss and colleagues in a meeting
Why didn't you just imagine doing this instead?

>>105942363
No, but monoids in the category of endofunctors still scare me.

>>105937119 (OP)
Yes, this works. Sometimes talking to an inanimate object, unrelated person, coworker or just leaving your desk and going for a 5 minute stroll helps with getting insight on things.

t. 20 years of experience haver

>>105937119 (OP)
It works because it's:
>Pause your flailing and do it step by step

I think the duck is played for laughs and to make it memorable (and sell the book)
I just go to bed and the solution hits me

Bump.

>>105937119 (OP)
>Empathy
>Engaging language centers
>Context change
Your brain is a bunch of interconnected neurons, forcing specific one's to be active can yield other results.
>>105942416
Actually needing to verbalize it forces you to engage the parts of your brain responsible for doing so.
>>105943379
Too busy eating breakfast.

>>105937119 (OP)
I’ve never seen anyone do this. Sometimes I will talk about a high level architecture consideration to people I know, who might as well be inanimate objects.

The infantalization of literally everything disgusts me.
lolz im le dum so i talk to squeeky squeek
A normal healthy adult thing to do is talk to another human about the problem or write it out or both. Those of you that can see the red apple in your mind's eye shouldn't even need to go that far.

>>105937119 (OP)
>'Rubber duck debugging' is a method used by programmers to debug code by verbally explaining it to an inanimate object
Yes, you're trying to explain the bug to the Indian who wrote it.

>>105946876
Anon if you cannot understand or relate to the mentality of a child you are mentally ill. the purpose of your current state of adulthood is to raise children and provide for their well being. Even though this outcome is hard to come by in real life, the base state of human emotion requires it's capacity to be considered temperament. if you lack it, you would be rendered incapable of raising a kid and thus a dead end.

>>105946876
t. american

I just tell it to my tulpa. She usually doesn't understand, but she nods along anyway.

People seriously can't do this in their head?

>>105937747
Get an officially-licensed Psyduck plastic model (kit)? Bandai and Blokees have decent ones.

>>105937119 (OP)
wtf i apply this technique without even knowing it existed.

>>105942152
> i'm high iq because i cant verbalise my thought
bruh

>>105937119 (OP)
I don't use a duck but talking yourself through something/writing notes to yourself has helped me tremendously when solving problems. I do it it a lot. It's kind of like that saying that goes something like, "if you can't explain a subject to someone else, you don't really understand it," but you're explaining it to yourself.

>>105949795
It's an implication. If someone is low IQ they need to verbalize everything in order to conceptualize it, but that doesn't mean high IQ must mean you can't verbalize. It just means you don't have to verbalize in order to conceptualize.
I hope that makes sense.

>>105950237
Bait used to be believable.

>>105937909
Just keep a cheap, shitty, air-gapped machine specifically for flash drives of unknown/questionable origin. ezpz