Rubber Duck Debugging After Johannes Vermeer
Tell it to the duck.
Read the steps, then tell the duck what seems wrong. Type a sentence and choose Say it. Explaining a problem can help you spot a mistake. Stuck? Choose Show mistake.
Add up a list of numbers.Start the total at zero.Prepare a set of instructions: Add each number to the total.End of the instructions.Discard the instructions.Return the total.Done. The total is always zero, even when the numbers should add up to more.
Rubber duck debugging
Say it out loud.
Hear what you assumed.
Reading code, you fill the gaps with what you meant. Saying it to someone who cannot fill any gaps, you have to say what is there. The listener does not need to understand. The listener does not even need to be alive.
Nothing you say here leaves the room. The microphone, if you use it, is the browser’s own, and the duck keeps no notes.
