He who fears death will never do anything worthy of a living man. – Seneca
Reflection
Some bugs just won't stay fixed.
You make a change. It looks like progress, but something else breaks. You try again, and the problem moves somewhere new. Before long, it no longer feels like a fix. It starts to feel like a search.
It's tempting to think you're wasting time. But if you stay with it, you start to see things more clearly.
Debugging doesn't just help you fix code. It reveals how you've been thinking. And where you haven't been thinking enough.
You scan the logs. Read through the same function for the third time. Follow a strange path through files you didn't write. Eventually, something stands out. The issue wasn't in the logic. It was in the assumption you didn't realize you were making.
Sometimes, the issue hides in timing. Other times, it's a name that no longer says what it means. You might look at two system parts, each working independently but falling apart. And occasionally, you're forcing a connection never meant to exist.
Bugs slow you down for a reason. They shift your focus to parts of the system you hadn't considered. You stop rushing and begin to see what was there all along.
It's natural to think you should have caught it sooner. Most of us do. But real insight rarely shows up on command. It comes after you've spent time with the unknown. Let the confusion teach you something after you've looked at the same thing from different angles.
Debugging reshapes the way you think. It strips away assumptions and helps you see how the system behaves, not how you hoped it would. And when you take the time to work through that process, people trust what you build. Not just because it runs but because you understand why it works.
Seneca said fear holds us back from meaningful effort. Sometimes, fear looks like frustration; sometimes, it seems like rushing or walking away too early. But if you stay with the problem and keep your attention from drifting, you build something solid in the code and yourself.
Today's Insight
A bug isn't just something broken.
It's something misunderstood. If you slow down enough to understand it, you leave with more than a solution.
Action Steps
- Pay Attention to What the Bug Is Trying to Show You - When something breaks, take a moment. Before jumping to a fix, ask what the failure says about your understanding of the system. What did it catch that you didn't?
- Follow the Clues, Not Just the Output - The error message is usually the last stop, not the first. Work backward through the code. Try to see the story that led there.
- Capture the Moment You Figured It Out - Write down what didn't make sense initially, what shifted your thinking, and what finally helped you see it. Over time, those notes will trace the shape of how you learn.
- Clean Up One Habit While It's Fresh - Pick one small thing in your workflow that could be tighter. Add a missing log. Rename something unclear. Make the next round of debugging easier to start.
Consider This
Think back to a bug that slowed you down.
What did it teach you about how systems fail? Or about how you respond under pressure?
What might the next one show you if you're patient enough to let it?