Cat Hicks
@grimalkina.bsky.social
Psychologist for the humans of tech. Author of The Psychology of Software Teams (2026). Founder: Catharsis Consulting (strategy * science). she/her 🏳️🌈 https://www.drcathicks.com/
Host at: https://www.changetechnically.fyi/
Host at: https://www.changetechnically.fyi/
And actually mixed up which thread this was on and didn't realize you were responding to this earlier one! Thanks for the pointer 🙏
November 27, 2025 at 11:02 PM
And actually mixed up which thread this was on and didn't realize you were responding to this earlier one! Thanks for the pointer 🙏
Totally, wasn't trying to argue with you at all but just thinking out loud as loads of people follow me who aren't psychologists :)
November 27, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Totally, wasn't trying to argue with you at all but just thinking out loud as loads of people follow me who aren't psychologists :)
I will just own it's something I'm pretty good at 😂
November 27, 2025 at 11:00 PM
I will just own it's something I'm pretty good at 😂
I sincerely doubt math ability is a particularly good predictor for real world software work outcomes except in the way that scoring well on anything is
November 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
I sincerely doubt math ability is a particularly good predictor for real world software work outcomes except in the way that scoring well on anything is
But it's right that in no way does it translate to the size of the diffs we observe in these careers. Also lower math ability men go into these careers just fine so it's not a blocker for *them*
November 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
But it's right that in no way does it translate to the size of the diffs we observe in these careers. Also lower math ability men go into these careers just fine so it's not a blocker for *them*
The male variability hypothesis is contested and I don't think we should reinforce it constantly, particularly in light of culture effects and disaggregation changing this claim
November 27, 2025 at 10:54 PM
The male variability hypothesis is contested and I don't think we should reinforce it constantly, particularly in light of culture effects and disaggregation changing this claim
And yeah great point about the utility of cadence and pacing which is also important. Ironically given how much people in software say "we're not a factory", factories understand this better when it comes to speed increases not always being net positive
November 27, 2025 at 10:39 PM
And yeah great point about the utility of cadence and pacing which is also important. Ironically given how much people in software say "we're not a factory", factories understand this better when it comes to speed increases not always being net positive
Looking at the magnitude of that kind of categorical behavior and decision making shift feels a lot more interesting to me than the simplistic "did we speed up" stuff everyone is doing
November 27, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Looking at the magnitude of that kind of categorical behavior and decision making shift feels a lot more interesting to me than the simplistic "did we speed up" stuff everyone is doing
Point being that what we expect and define as competence changes, especially as what it means to work with technology changes
November 27, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Point being that what we expect and define as competence changes, especially as what it means to work with technology changes
I mean same as before, when? It's not the same understanding as it was in the 70s-80s, from which era I was just reading papers claiming that the only people who should be allowed to create code should pass timed math challenges
November 27, 2025 at 10:23 PM
I mean same as before, when? It's not the same understanding as it was in the 70s-80s, from which era I was just reading papers claiming that the only people who should be allowed to create code should pass timed math challenges
Did I say it's magic lol? No. I said it's important to not just assert that the solution is "one individual must know everything" when so many things are collective knowledge and systems of verification and dependence.
November 27, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Did I say it's magic lol? No. I said it's important to not just assert that the solution is "one individual must know everything" when so many things are collective knowledge and systems of verification and dependence.
I suspect that we really do need to emphasize a much more social learning/collaborative knowledge approach to this versus individual understanding, that's the piece that software culture doesn't like to admit though!
November 27, 2025 at 9:29 PM
I suspect that we really do need to emphasize a much more social learning/collaborative knowledge approach to this versus individual understanding, that's the piece that software culture doesn't like to admit though!
What level of comprehension/and fixing we want to expect from people, in order for them to do certain kinds of work, is such an interesting and important question! And has been a bit ignored in software so far in a way that isn't helping us now, imho.
November 27, 2025 at 9:28 PM
What level of comprehension/and fixing we want to expect from people, in order for them to do certain kinds of work, is such an interesting and important question! And has been a bit ignored in software so far in a way that isn't helping us now, imho.
Ok I mean it's pretty easy to say this, but rarely can someone actually explain every layer of dependencies underneath the code they CAN explain. Comprehension is always shared across people for complex work.
November 27, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Ok I mean it's pretty easy to say this, but rarely can someone actually explain every layer of dependencies underneath the code they CAN explain. Comprehension is always shared across people for complex work.
I have seen plenty, plenty of scientists talk about defending work like this, particularly since all the marginalized scientists who actually work on equity in STEM and similar have been the hardest hit by compounding cuts and attacks. It is the "BUT THE HUMANITIES" people who seem oblivious to me.
November 27, 2025 at 5:40 PM
I have seen plenty, plenty of scientists talk about defending work like this, particularly since all the marginalized scientists who actually work on equity in STEM and similar have been the hardest hit by compounding cuts and attacks. It is the "BUT THE HUMANITIES" people who seem oblivious to me.
I do think this is a really important part of it all. This industry making it harder for people to grapple agentically with change right when that's the metacognitive approach that will help people navigate all this
November 26, 2025 at 6:19 PM
I do think this is a really important part of it all. This industry making it harder for people to grapple agentically with change right when that's the metacognitive approach that will help people navigate all this
I have been in so many similar situations
November 26, 2025 at 6:07 PM
I have been in so many similar situations
all the time! I love it a lot and find it very accurate! But I think I put more work into tuning my lil algos than some people :). I aggressively discover music via these generated playlists.
November 26, 2025 at 1:32 AM
all the time! I love it a lot and find it very accurate! But I think I put more work into tuning my lil algos than some people :). I aggressively discover music via these generated playlists.
thank you. Incredibly, the author of the piece I read today *also* wrote a piece that included a defense of Summers. It is hard to express how pervasive these views are in software
November 26, 2025 at 12:39 AM
thank you. Incredibly, the author of the piece I read today *also* wrote a piece that included a defense of Summers. It is hard to express how pervasive these views are in software
this looks amazing!!
November 26, 2025 at 12:14 AM
this looks amazing!!
Please send me your favorite work on this topic that tackles the evidence here, I have a good collection, but I am always looking for more to defang these arguments.
November 25, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Please send me your favorite work on this topic that tackles the evidence here, I have a good collection, but I am always looking for more to defang these arguments.
Or investing it in social science honestly. That's the place that studies behavior change and learning and problem solving outcomes!
November 25, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Or investing it in social science honestly. That's the place that studies behavior change and learning and problem solving outcomes!