The Art of Being Wrong

Closing Keynote delivered to CSS Dev Conf. An epic conference aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach California.

This talk is more or less the summation of 6 months worth of nights and evenings pondering web design and community.

I'll try to explain not-so-obvious things here:

BORG UX: What if we're the 1st Gen Borg. A connected species that can disseminate information (and mis-information) immediately? What does that mean when we posture our language with fake facts.

Alan Alda something something killed dinosaurs.

Hitler

The Donald Trump Effect: Why is it the loudest, most persistent, and most brazen voices are considered "correct"? This is actually something Hitler talked about.

The man pointing at the map is Robert McNamara. A very data-driven man. You can learn more about that in the documentary "The Fog of War" https://archive.org/details/TheFogOfWarElevenLessonsFromTheLifeOfRobertS.Mcnamara - He helped fight Nazis using data. He also was blinded by data during the Vietnam War, which led to a senseless loss of life.

My feelings on the Hurk-Jerk of Critical Path Rendering http://daverupert.com/2015/10/on-hurk-jerk/

Turds.

I heard Cap Watkins on Developer Tea say (paraphrasing) "My blog is a documentation of my thoughts." I really liked that. https://www.developertea.com/episodes/17553

Jeremy Keith isn't talking to Cap Watkins, he's quoting the Incredible Hulk.

"Well Actually..." was a slide where I talked about our Industry's insatiable desire to be right and how it affects gender diversity in our industry. Women speakers I know have been chastised after their talks about anything and everything. Even facts that they know to be true. It's a ridiculous unconscious bias.

It's okay to let people be wrong. Just let them be wrong. Try it out. Seriously. Let them. No big deal. Life will go on.

Let's have better discussions not pundit opinions.

THE END.

Transcript

1. Dave Rupert @davatron5000 THE ART OF BEING WRONG
3. http://shoptalkshow.com
4. http://godaytrip.com
5. THE EXTRAORDINARY PRESSURE OF BEING RIGHT
6. HTML CSS JavaScript
7. HTML CSS JS Accessibility SVG Web Animation API CSS Animations SVG Animations Typography React Radium Pattern Libraries Web Components Container Queries RWD Fractals WebPerf Data Visualization Regression Testing CSS Architecture Level 4 Selectors Bower Open Source SMACSS Sass Grunt GSAP Continuous Integration TDD Flexbox
8. …AND THAT’S JUST STUFF FROM THIS CONFERENCE
9. “I JUST WANT TO ADD TWO NUMBERS BUT I HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL THESE TAPE REELS.”
10. BORG UX
11. What if we’re all connected to a giant shared source of knowledge and what if everything in that machine isn’t always correct?
12. “FACTS” & “MUST DOs”
13. THIS IDEA MUST DIE
14. “The idea that things are either true or false should possibly take a rest …. I wonder, and this is just a modest proposal, if scientific truth should be identified in a way that acknowledges that it's something we know and understand for now – and in a certain way.” - Alan Alda
22. THIS IDEA MUST DIE
23. Sometimes wrong is wrong
24. BULLSHIT
25. *ahem*
26. HUMANS ARE GOOD AT DETECTING BULLSHIT. 93% ACCURACY.
27. THAT WAS A LIE. IT’S MORE LIKE 53% SAME AS A COIN TOSS.
28. The Donald Trump Effect
29. BALONEY DETECTION KIT
30. Baloney Detection Kit • Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the facts. • Encourage substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all points of view. • Arguments from authority carry little weight. • Spin more than one hypothesis • Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it's yours. • Quantify, wherever possible. • If there is a chain of argument every link in the chain must work. • Occam's razor - if there are two hypotheses that explain the data equally well choose the simpler. • Ask whether the hypothesis can, at least in principle, be falsified. In other words, it is testable? Can others duplicate the experiment and get the same result?
31. Logical Fallacies • Ad hominem • Argument from "authority" • Argument from adverse consequences • Appeal to ignorance • Special pleading • Begging the question. • Observational selection. • Statistics of small numbers. • Misunderstanding the nature of statistics • Inconsistency • Non sequitur • Post hoc, ergo propter hoc • Meaningless question • Excluded middle • Short-term v. long-term • Slippery slope • Confusion of correlation and causation • Caricaturing (or stereotyping) a position to make it easier to attack. • Suppressed evidence or half-truths. • Weasel words
32. WARNING: Playing in the role of In-Person Baloney Detection Kit at a party or online doesn’t make you a popular nor does it make you a person that people want to actually listen to or be around. Use judgement and “social tact” at all times.
33. “Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it's yours. It's only a way station in the pursuit of knowledge. Ask yourself why you like the idea. Compare it fairly with the alternatives. See if you can find reasons for rejecting it. If you don't, others will.” - Carl Sagan’s Baloney Detection Kit from “The Demon Haunted World”
34. How we become wrong
35. The #HOTDRAMA Trap
36. The #HOTDRAMA Trap
37. Have a really strong opinion about a really niche topic
38. vs PostCSS Sass vs SASS Sass vs SVG Sprites Icon Fonts vs React Inline Styles Cascading Style Sheets vs ??? Hamburger Menus vs Any modern web development practice basically? Progressive Enhancement
39. Strong opinions are great, but they can create a blind spot
40. “Discussions are always worth having. Weighing options is always interesting. Demonstrating what has worked (and what hasn't) for you is always useful. There are ways to communicate that don't resort to dogmatism.” - Chris Coyier “The Gray Gray Ghost That I Call Home”
41. “The Gray”
42. What does the data say?
44. 1. Empathize with your enemy 2. Rationality will not save us 3. There's something beyond one's self 4. Maximize efficiency 5. Proportionality should be a guideline in war 6. Get the data 7. Belief and seeing are often both wrong 8. Be prepared to re-examine your reasoning 9. In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil 10. Never say never 11. You can't change human nature
45. McNamara’s Fallacy
46. The first step is to measure whatever can be easily measured. This is OK as far as it goes. The second step is to disregard that which can't be easily measured or to give it an arbitrary quantitative value. This is artificial and misleading. The third step is to presume that what can't be measured easily really isn't important. This is blindness. The fourth step is to say that what can't be easily measured really doesn't exist. This is suicide. — Daniel Yankelovich "Corporate Priorities: A continuing study of the new demands on business." (1972)
47. The first step is to measure whatever can be easily measured. This is OK as far as it goes. The second step is to disregard that which can't be easily measured or to give it an arbitrary quantitative value. This is artificial and misleading. The third step is to presume that what can't be measured easily really isn't important. This is blindness. The fourth step is to say that what can't be easily measured really doesn't exist. This is suicide. — Daniel Yankelovich "Corporate Priorities: A continuing study of the new demands on business." (1972)
48. The first step is to measure whatever can be easily measured. This is OK as far as it goes. The second step is to disregard that which can't be easily measured or to give it an arbitrary quantitative value. This is artificial and misleading. The third step is to presume that what can't be measured easily really isn't important. This is blindness. The fourth step is to say that what can't be easily measured really doesn't exist. This is suicide. — Daniel Yankelovich "Corporate Priorities: A continuing study of the new demands on business." (1972)
49. The first step is to measure whatever can be easily measured. This is OK as far as it goes. The second step is to disregard that which can't be easily measured or to give it an arbitrary quantitative value. This is artificial and misleading. The third step is to presume that what can't be measured easily really isn't important. This is blindness. The fourth step is to say that what can't be easily measured really doesn't exist. This is suicide. — Daniel Yankelovich "Corporate Priorities: A continuing study of the new demands on business." (1972)
50. The first step is to measure whatever can be easily measured. This is OK as far as it goes. The second step is to disregard that which can't be easily measured or to give it an arbitrary quantitative value. This is artificial and misleading. The third step is to presume that what can't be measured easily really isn't important. This is blindness. The fourth step is to say that what can't be easily measured really doesn't exist. This is suicide. — Daniel Yankelovich "Corporate Priorities: A continuing study of the new demands on business." (1972)
51. CHASING METRICS
52. BEHOLD THE PINNACLE OF MODERN DAY WEB DESIGN!
55. A/B Testing
56. Good, but…
57. Compare two turds, user still gets a turd.
58. INCREASE CONVERSION RATE BY 22%
60. CONVERSION DOESN’T ALWAYS EQUAL GOOD
61. Allowing myself and others to be wrong
62. Yes… And… My new Open Source philosophy
63. Blogging The ancient art of expressing your feelings
64. 0 5 10 15 20 25 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 DRAFTS DAVERUPERT.COM POSTS BY YEAR Posts
66. “That’s my secret, Cap – I’m always publishing. (Seriously though; treat your blog as your drafts folder)” - Jeremy Keith on Twitter
69. Well Actually…
70. Promote better discussions
71. Parallax is dumb.
72. I am of the opinion that parallax is dumb.
73. I am of the opinion that parallax is a waste of time and resources in order to achieve an effect that users are already immune to and has terrible scrolling performance in a multi-device world.
74. Now we can have a discussion!
75. Go forth and fight Nazis!
76. Thanks! Dave Rupert @davatron5000