We spend far more time reading and understanding code than writing it. Therefore, the amount of cognitive load we need to build in our brains in order

zakirullin/cognitive-load

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2023-05-22 16:30:04

We spend far more time reading and understanding code than writing it. Therefore, the amount of cognitive load we need to build in our brains in order to understand code is crucial.

This paper discusses a fundamental thinking tool that would enable us to create simple yet maintainable applications. We would look at every decision, every trendy buzzword, and every fancy technology through the lens of cognitive load.

The average person can hold roughly four facts in working memory. Once the cognitive load reaches this threshold, a significant effort is required to understand things.

Let's say we've been asked to make some fixes to a completely unfamiliar project. We were told that a really smart developer had contributed to it. Lots of cool technologies, fancy libraries and trendy frameworks were used. In other words, the previous author had a high cognitive load in his head, which we are yet to recreate.

Intrinsic - is the inherent level of difficulty associated with a specific problem we're solving. It can't be reduced, it's at the very heart of software development.

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