Write some bullshit

Not so long ago I had the opportunity to speak with a very talented SOC analyst. In addition, he started his own small business where he provides OSINT services. If these expressions scare you, don’t be afraid. That’s not what my letter is about.

When I decided to increase my professional network, he was the first contact. Since then, we talked regularly and helped each other. During our conversation, it turned out that he has ADHD. Since becoming more immersed in the topic of mental health, I’ve been part of more and more of these conversations. In almost all of them, it turns out that the person in question has some kind of mental problem. But that’s not the point now.

Since I have quite a lot of experience in making security software, aka in development, he asked me for advice on how he could improve his phyton knowledge. Because, one of the problems with development is that, of course, we can watch tutorials, but they don’t always reflect the real problems. In addition, due to attention deficit disorder, it is difficult to start a project of your own where you could learn more.

Of course, the immediate question was which language would be worth starting with. My answer was:

• The language you want to use. But you will still use the language your team uses.
• Okay, but it’s phyton. But I can’t get one to two with it.
• Why not?
• I’m sitting in front of the machine and I don’t know what to do.

Now, of course, we could think about a body double, that is, someone who is next to us and watches what we are doing, or who is just quietly there next to us. Or a mentor to help you navigate the chaos. But that doesn’t help here. Two people sitting next to each other in silence and nothing happens. So my advice was:

• If I can’t code, which happens quite often. Because I’ve already thought through all the possibilities and realized how big a tree I cut my ax into. Then I start the development environment and start writing some crap. Then it will become something.

What I learned in software development is that I will never have all the information available to me. Requirements are constantly changing. Let’s estimate how much time a project will take. What will be the pitfalls? How much does it cost to build? And so on.

So why even start? I think this is a misunderstanding about ADHD. The thoughts are spinning and you can’t decide. Sure you can. If we already have sufficient knowledge, then we can see the problems that have not yet arisen. Or if we don’t have enough knowledge, we know what we don’t know. And we know it won’t take two hours to find out.

But what can I do now? I could start writing some crap. Because if I don’t start, I’ll never know what I don’t know.

That is why I started writing this book in this form. Because if I don’t start, I’ll never know what I haven’t said yet. And I won’t even know who the people I can help are.

The process can be improved. You can rephrase what has been written. Nothing is set in stone.