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Dan Kim

Chicagoland

Can’t crack that programming problem? Go to sleep or take a walk

Can’t crack that programming problem? Go to sleep or take a walk

Think back to the last time you had that really tough programming problem you couldn’t crack. If you’re like me, you may have spent a few hours trying to brute force a solution. Then, in despair and frustration, eventually you gave up for the night. And then the

Get to the point

Get to the point

It’s the single best way to improve your day-to-day writing. If you want to consistently improve your everyday writing, there’s one really straightforward thing you can do… Get to the point. When you get to the point quickly, your writing becomes instantly clearer. Clarity makes your writing easier

A few tips to avoid the never ending comment thread

A few tips to avoid the never ending comment thread

Asynchronous communications are a wonderful thing for productivity. But they do have a dark side: the all-too-common, never ending comment thread. Emails and message boards are where they’re commonly seen. It usually goes something like this: Dan: “I think we should try this.” <5 seconds later)> Julie:

Don’t overlook the quiet voices and contributions

Don’t overlook the quiet voices and contributions

A few years ago I worked at a mega corporation. I had just finished up a brutal week of all-day meetings with 20 people. My boss and I sat down to catch up. Eventually, she warned: “Dan, you need to speak up more. You need to participate and contribute during

A shining example of how to teach

A shining example of how to teach

I was recently fumbling my way through a programming problem. I couldn’t figure out the root issue, so I cobbled together a shaky solution and posted my ¯_(ツ)_/¯. Then Sam Stephenson stepped in to help. I admire and respect Sam a lot — he’s patient, thoughtful, and wicked smart.

Your ideas are important — share them with the community

Your ideas are important — share them with the community

Sharing your ideas helps you and others get better. Here’s how to get started. At least once a week I say to myself, “That’s interesting. I should write something about it.” And then I don’t. A bunch of excuses fly into my head. “Lots of people have

It’s OK to be pragmatic

It’s OK to be pragmatic

Being pragmatic is engrained in me. I’m at my best being practical and boring. Here’s the problem — experience has taught me that you’ll never do your best work through sheer pragmatism alone. While I’m good at weighing options and making decisions, I’m not that visionary