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Across the life journey, some aspects of life become more relevant than others, they make us even more unique in our uniqueness. Our professional life is merely a reflection of it.
I believe that giving the best care and equilibrium in every corner of our daily lives contributes to a more positive and happy balance. With this sentence, we could write thousands of articles, ranging from nutritionism and mindfulness to exercise routines, time management strategies, circadian cycle, self-care practices, and fostering healthy relationships. Each aspect contributes to our overall well-being and enhances our journey toward a fulfilling life.
But today, I want to engage in a less-expected topic. How can code consistency sum up for a better day in our daily journey? In the world of software development, consistency in code is often praised for its technical benefits, such as easier maintenance, readability, and scalability. However, its impact on psychological factors and productivity is equally profound yet often overlooked.
Companies like Facebook, Airbnb, and many others use internal style guides to enforce code consistency, ensuring that their software development teams adhere to established conventions and standards. These guides cover aspects such as naming conventions, formatting rules, code structure, and best practices, ultimately promoting maintainability, readability, and collaboration within the development process.
In a psychological path, it goes beyond just looks, it fosters a sense of order and predictability within the codebase. The human brain is inherently drawn to patterns, organization, and predictability, as they reduce cognitive load and make information processing more efficient.
Image credit: Android Jones
Evolutionary History
Throughout our evolutionary history, humans have relied on patterns and predictability as fundamental survival mechanisms. In prehistoric times, early humans needed to recognize patterns in their environment to identify potential threats, locate sources of food, and navigate their surroundings safely. This ability to detect patterns and anticipate outcomes was crucial for survival in a constantly changing and often unpredictable environment.
As our ancestors transitioned from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural and eventually industrial civilizations, the importance of patterns and predictability persisted. Agricultural societies relied on seasonal patterns to determine the timing of planting and harvesting crops, while industrial civilizations established predictable systems of production and trade to facilitate economic growth.
From a psychological standpoint, the human brain is wired to seek out patterns and impose order on the world around us. This innate tendency, known as pattern recognition, allows us to make sense of complex information and make decisions more efficiently. When faced with chaotic or disorganized stimuli, our brains instinctively seek patterns to create a sense of order and predictability.
Moreover, the human brain is optimized for processing and retaining information that follows predictable patterns. Studies in cognitive psychology have shown that information presented in a structured and organized manner is more easily encoded into memory and retrieved when needed.
