🧠The developer’s brain: Cognitive science for better code
Software development is not just about writing code, but also about how our brains handle complexity, learning, and problem-solving under pressure.
Why does a day of coding feel so mentally exhausting? Why do solutions appear when you step away from your desk? And why do we sometimes get stuck chasing the wrong bug for hours?
In this talk, we explore the intersection of neuroscience and programming through four practical concepts: your brain’s “background processor,” its ability to rewire itself, the limits of working memory, and how cognitive biases affect debugging. You’ll leave with a simple, actionable toolkit to avoid common mental traps, learn faster, and code more effectively.
If you’re a developer, your most important tool is not your editor or your setup but your brain. And yet, most people don't know much about how it actually works.
This talk is a practical introduction to the cognitive side of software engineering. We’ll explore why coding is so mentally demanding and how understanding a few key mechanisms of the brain can significantly improve the way we work.
Through real-world examples and relatable scenarios, we’ll cover four essential concepts:
The brain’s background processor
- Zooming in vs zooming out
- How to trigger the "a-ha" momentsNeuroplasticity
- What happens in the brain when we learn new technologies
- What's the most optimal strategy to learning
- Cognitive load
- Why complex code quickly becomes overwhelming
- Techniques to manage mental load through decomposition and externalization
- Biases
- The brain as a pattern recognition machine
- A bias-resistent approach to debugging and problem-solving
We’ll finish by combining these ideas into a practical cognitive toolkit you can apply immediately in your day-to-day work.
This isn’t a theory-heavy talk, but rather some practical guidelines to building a cognitive toolkit you can apply immediately in your day-to-day work so you can write better code, make better decisions, and work more sustainably.
I'm a senior software development engineer with a background in Neuropsychology.
I spent a decade working in clinical settings and neuroscience research, until in 2020 I enrolled on a web development bootcamp, landing my first software development role in 2021 and joining Criteo in 2022 where I've been working since.
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