SoCraTes 2025

This is a reflection of SoCraTes in Soltau this year. Lets start with some of the phrases which made my conference this year:

• “Not my circus. Not my monkeys.”
• “Human ingenuity is primarily found in agriculture and war; one is about growing your own food, and the other one is about taking someone elses food” - Avraham
• “Crossing the street without looking is measurably faster” - Romeu
• “People do not like to be told what to do. Instead they much rather talk about what they do instead.”
• “The dinstance between a wink and a blink is deliberate practice” - Romeu

For me, this years conference had been a quest for meaning within the software industry. It seems like all beautiful things in the IT industry are either created to accumulate power and influence for others, or to act as weapons. In the margins of the conference Romeu soberingly asked whether this would be different in any other industry. Lunch called, and no answer had been given.

In stark contrast to last year, this year I came there with a mission. While last year I got introduced to fancy topics like property-based testing, got a decent introduction to test-driven-development, and participated in a number of code-katas, this year focus revolved around meaning. What does it mean to write software (software craft), how do we communicate (misunderstanding better), and what are we doing it all for (empowering people through IT). While I did not expect a single conference to resolve the existential crisis I harbor about the software industry, this conference re-aligned my bearings, and gave me hope about the undercurrents in this industry. Throughout the conference there seemed to be a whole track about anti-capitalist, anti-patriarchal software development, where focus was not software, but instead on the impact it had on the real world. About how it interacts with systems and enforces these. But also about how we can imagine better ones, and build these next to what we currently have. One thought provoking remark had been shared that we cannot change existing systems by participating in them, but that we should build out new systems in parallel. Not destroy the existing systems, just show the way to something more humane. The conversations here had been refreshing, and I want to thank everyone in those sessions especially for bringing in their perspectives.

On a more personal level these sessions had helped me crystallize a vision on more humane software, and what that means. One which is against capturing users attention. One which is against exploitation. One which is against hoarding power, and creating walled gardens. It is at this point in time I am still railing against all the aspects I do not agree with. Very much in context of imagining a better world I should try to redefine these not as railing against X or Y, but as distinct and positive aspects in their own right. Throughout the conference a term crystallized to describe this sort of software, with Andrew reading it back to me as “anti-nihilist software”. Very much in the context of what I wrote earlier, this is merely a working title for a creative exploration of what is hidden underneath. These concepts - at least to me - are very much a work in progress.

One wonderful thing from SoCraTes however is the cross-pollination of different ideas, because the idea of nihilism didn’t just come out of this air. During a session titled “why do hotels lack toothpaste”, Romeu dove into deliberate practice and nihilism (“avoiding yourself”) as a reason to avoid deliberate practice. While this session had little to do with software, it provided a seed to think about how software nowadays tend to impose nihilistic tendencies upon us all.

Sticky Business

On the first conference day I had hosted a presentation titled “Sticky Business”. This presentation had been about the process of reverse engineering a USB thumb drive. The contents of this presentation had already been discussed in the margins of last years’ SoCraTes, though took another year to crystallize more. Upon arrival on Wednesday evening Lisi started hyping people for a presentation not-yet created, providing the necessary motivation to throw something together last-minute (thanks Lisi…). Throwing this together forced me to go through the process once again, and provided yet more inspiring avenues on how to continue exploration on this topic. In that regard this presentation has only been a primer. The first part yet. With some luck and elbow grease there might be a part two next year…

• Slides of the presentation “Sticky Business”

Notes

Having participated in the training day I had been introduced to the concept of sketchnotes. Throughout the conference I had been attempting to write clearer notes which are more inviting to recall. I’m publishing some here, mostly without explanation. Some might be abstract, or require further context. Feel free to compare notes.

• Why do hotels lack toothpaste?
• Software Craft
• Misunderstanding better
• Empowering people through IT

Last but not least

In the margins of the conference I’ve had conversations with many, many wonderful people. I want to thank everyone for sharing their perspectives on a wide variety of topics! While I am not going to publicly write about these now; know that I will be munching over these and be inspired by them for the time to come!