I worked at my college's IT dept and I feel it was key to how I debug issues.
It even helps when debugging non-tech issues. For example:
hm, my office is cold even though we put in new insulation. What provides the heat? Furnace. Is that working? Yes. Other rooms are heated. What if I'm losing heat? Possible. What changed? Insulation was put in. Noted, but how could that make it colder? Check the vent, hm. Some hot air but not nearly enough. Maybe my room is further from the furnace? Nope. Other farther rooms are heated. Time to get into the crawlspace. Turns out the insulation workers knocked the vent loose!
Same thing with code: What are the conditions the bug occurs in? What about when it doesn't? What's changed? Does it happen in all cases? If not, when does it? When did it start? ...etc etc.
It's even become a problem when watching TV. I think my debugging skill makes it easy to predict what's going to happen or be said. The plots, jokes, dialogue, and "twists" become predictable, mostly because it's easy to catch things because they only show things that are relevant. It's still enjoyable though, it's just a fun game I play. It used to drive my spouse nuts but now she's picked it up too!
I'm a master debugger and can figure out repro steps for even the most bizarre cases. This is probably due to my help desk origins.
I came to say the same thing!
I worked at my college's IT dept and I feel it was key to how I debug issues.
It even helps when debugging non-tech issues. For example:
hm, my office is cold even though we put in new insulation. What provides the heat? Furnace. Is that working? Yes. Other rooms are heated. What if I'm losing heat? Possible. What changed? Insulation was put in. Noted, but how could that make it colder? Check the vent, hm. Some hot air but not nearly enough. Maybe my room is further from the furnace? Nope. Other farther rooms are heated. Time to get into the crawlspace. Turns out the insulation workers knocked the vent loose!
Same thing with code: What are the conditions the bug occurs in? What about when it doesn't? What's changed? Does it happen in all cases? If not, when does it? When did it start? ...etc etc.
It's even become a problem when watching TV. I think my debugging skill makes it easy to predict what's going to happen or be said. The plots, jokes, dialogue, and "twists" become predictable, mostly because it's easy to catch things because they only show things that are relevant. It's still enjoyable though, it's just a fun game I play. It used to drive my spouse nuts but now she's picked it up too!
This is very cool!