Episode 328 | Ben Clinkinbeard - More than Minimum

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Ben Clinkinbeard talks with Dave Rael about being misled, data visualization, JavaScript, caring about the domain, and being a self-taught programmer

Ben Clinkinbeard is a consultant, trainer, and the author of D3 + SVG: How to Create Flawless Charts for Any Screen. His video courses include Build Interactive JavaScript Charts with D3 and to date, more than 25,000 developers have spent over 18,000 hours watching his video lessons. Ben helps organizations improve their data visualization capabilities by providing advice, education, and custom development.

Chapters: 2:04 - Dave introduces the show and Ben Clinkinbeard4:36 - Ben and D3.js9:26 - Working in boring domains with tedious tasks12:23 - Ben's experience with both client and service-side web programming14:18 - How Ben got started in software and misleading marketing information regarding a college major21:27 - The good and bad of being a largely self-taught programmer24:34 - The applicability of computer science concepts to the typical daily life of a developer26:09 - Ben's comfort with public speaking and sharing information and the intimidation of people with impressive educational backgrounds31:19 - Ben's story of failure - executing on an opportunity in a business without interest in the domain39:14 - Ben's success story - incremental growth of knowledge and gradual acquisition of competency44:44 - How Ben stays current with what he needs to know48:00 - Ben's book recommendations49:29 - Ben's top 3 tips for delivering more value53:41 - Keeping up with Ben

Resources: Ben's D3 in 5 Days Email Course Ben on GitHub D3.js Adobe Flex "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter" Industrial Light & Magic The Dark Crystal D3 Slack Team

Ben's book recommendation: Head First Design Patterns: A Brain-Friendly Guide - Eric Freeman, Bert Bates

Ben's top 3 tips for delivering more value: Care about the domain in which you are working Don't be attached to your code Do more than the bare minimum - find the right balance in the space between not caring and obsessing