by Asim Jalis
I was recently pair programming with someone who decided to take
some very large steps in the program. It was clear to me that
this will quickly lead to uncontrollable complexity. He wanted to
move some methods, and modify them at the same time.
Problem: How can I convince him to take smaller bites without
upsetting him. If I take the keyboard and force small steps in
this one case this won't leave a lasting impression. For this to
work I must teach him what to do without being condescending.
There might be other ways to do this, but one that seems to work
reasonably well is the Socratic method. Teach by asking questions
instead of giving answers.
