What the duck?¶

You might be asking yourself, "Why is there a duck in my order?" It's a fair question.

In software engineering there's a technique called rubber duck debugging. It comes from The Pragmatic Programmer (1999), which tells the story of a programmer who carried a rubber duck around and talked through problems with it. It sounds silly, but explaining a problem step by step to something with no prior knowledge makes you think it through from start to finish. Very often, the answer turns up halfway through the explanation.

Since then, developers have talked about "ducking" or "rubber ducking" when they need to talk a hard problem through out loud. Explaining what you know reinforces it and helps you approach technical problems from different angles.

Open-source hardware and software can be tough to learn. You'll hit moments where you're frustrated and working through a problem. We're always a quick email or message away when you're stuck, but we also wanted to give you a friend to consult when you just need to think out loud.

Throughout my career, I've given ducks to people I admire, enjoy working with, or enjoy solving problems with. As a supporter of the Maine hacker community, your order helps our mission of teaching people about technology and helping them find meaningful careers in information security. I'm grateful for your support. This duck is my thank-you, for whenever you need someone (or something) to bounce an idea off. And if the duck isn't helpful, let us know how we can help.

Happy hacking!

Ben 'Marbas' Strout