The Programming Podcast How GREAT Senior Software Engineers Think! (Steal these 9 TIPS!) Kent C. Dodds
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Oct 16, 2025 
In this engaging discussion, Kent C. Dodds, a notable instructor and creator of developer resources, shares powerful insights on mental models for senior engineers. He emphasizes the importance of decision documents to clarify trade-offs and introduces second-order thinking to foresee future pitfalls. Kent also delves into using AI effectively in development while maintaining a strong foundation in core competencies. Finally, he advocates for blind code reviews to bolster team knowledge and proposes pragmatic approaches over rigid practices. A treasure trove of tips awaits!
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Mental Models Make Invisible Work Visible
- Mental models bridge the gap between plan and reality by giving developers reusable maps for decisions.
- Recognizing and naming what you already do lets you communicate impact and get opportunities.
Document Decisions, Reduce Rework
- Write decision documents and guiding principles to make tradeoffs explicit and repeatable.
- Use those documents to defend choices and get constructive feedback from teammates.
Always Do Second-Order Thinking
- Think through second-order effects before coding, not just immediate wins like faster responses.
- List downstream consequences (stale data, invalidation, spam) and pick mitigations accordingly.
