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Sex, Death and Fly-fishing and other books for software testers

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It is a gray rainy day in Seattle and still rather cold outside; one of those lazy sort of days when one lacks ambition to do just about anything. A good day for lounging at home. I have never been much on vegetating in front of the idiot box so I decided to catch up on some reading. I try to read at least 3 hours each day (something other than email), and try to get through a book a week on various topics to learn new things, keep abreast of the latest trends in the areas I am interested in, and sometimes simply to relax my mind. This was a relax my mind sort of day, so I read John Gierach's book entitled Sex, Death and Fly-Fishing. I am a big fan of John Gierach. His essays are wonderful tales about his various escapades while fiy fishing, and at times it is as if he were reaching into my soul and putting my feelings and memories into words, and I have become an avid fly fisherman.

I only started fly fishing about 5 years ago, but instantly became obsessed with it. Of course, the first few times out were pretty humiliating, but I have since become a rather accomplished fly fisherman to the point I feel confident in giving advice on the subject now. I know how to read rivers and lakes to know where trout might be lying, I tie my own flies, and have even become somewhat of an amateur aquatic entomologist. Although I enjoyed reading the books Trout Bum and Standing in a River Waving a Stick, and they have caused my mind to reflect on many aspects of my life (including my professional life as a software tester) these books didn't teach me very much about fly-fishing (or software testing) directly. When I first started fly fishing I took some casting lessons, then I read a few books such as Tactics on Trout (to learn how to read rivers) and Fly Fishing Trout Lakes (to learn how to fish lakes because the tactics are different) and went into the back yard and tied a piece of yarn onto the end of my tippet and practiced my casting. When I started tying my own flies I took lessons from the local shop, then read several books including The Fly Teir's Benchside Reference (which no fly tier should be without) and the last book related to fly tying I read was Two Centuries of Soft-Hackled Flies (because I love fishing soft hackles and I also like history in general) and sat down at my desk for hours on end practicing different patterns and techniques. I also subscribe to 3 magazines including Fly Tyer to learn new patterns, see what new in the sport, and because I want to stay current and continuously learn more about this hobby.

So, you're probably wondering how this all relates to software testing. The same tactics I use to learn new skills or concepts are the same that I recommend to individuals wanting to learn more about software testng. I recommend books on testing and computer science in general to focus people on the particulars of the profession. I also recommend other books on various subjects when asked about those areas of study. I think an understanding of philosophy, psychology, biology, and even history are paramount to expand one's knowledge and increase one's perspective on life in general. (I generally don't read fiction (except first or second editions of classic literature); however, I am sure there are those who are inspired by that genre as well.) For example, one book I thoroughly enjoyed was Sir Karl Popper's Conjecture and Refutation. It embodies the essence of problem solving and I highly recommend it. It is not specifically about software testing; although software testing involves a lot of problem solving. I also think there are lessons in The Art of War by Sun Tzu that are applicable in software tesitng. Tomorrow I plan to start reading A Primer of Genome Science. I don't expect any chapter to specifically discuss how to test software, but I have recently become interested in genetic algorithms and figure I should freshen up on my biology; specifically genetics before I do a deep dive into the subject from a computer science approach.

I don't like to talk about my personal life very much, but I guess it is somewhat necessary for those who have never met me or don't really know me very well to get better insight into my perspective. I am a prolific reader. I love to learn new things, I thurst for knowledge, and I strive to aquire a variety of perspectives (and sometimes simply read essays on life or classic literature) . Books on diverse subjects such as philosophy and biology, (and yes I even read a lot about epistomology because my current role involves training and education and I read a lot of papers on Human Performance Technology HPT) have increased my knowledge and broadened my perspectives. However, when I need to learn specifics skills or increase my expertise in software testing you have to know I am probably going to pick up a book by Beizer, Myers, Copeland, Black, or other notible authors who have written great books on the practice of software testing.

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