rubber duck debugging

Definition

The practice of explaining your code line-by-line to an inanimate object (traditionally a rubber duck) until you realize your own mistake. It works because your brain processes information differently when teaching versus thinking.

Example Usage

I've been stuck on this bug for three hours, time to break out the rubber duck.

Origin

Popularized in the 1999 book 'The Pragmatic Programmer' by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas

Fun Fact

Some companies keep actual rubber ducks on hand for this purpose, leading to surreal scenes of senior engineers having earnest conversations with bathroom toys.

Source: Software development best practices and folklore

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