talks

About This Directory

These are my conference talks from over the years. I used to spend a lot of time speaking at conferences and meetups, but I've since shifted my focus to writing and creating content online. I still enjoy speaking, but I'm more selective about the events I attend.

Each talk includes slides and comprehensive AI-generated summaries that capture the key insights and philosophical frameworks that emerged from that period of my thinking.

Major Talks

Python for Humans (2012)

The foundational talk that established the "for Humans" philosophy—prioritizing developer experience and human mental models over technical complexity. This presentation introduced the principles that would guide years of API design work.

The Reality of Developer Burnout (2015)

A vulnerable exploration of burnout in tech culture, sharing personal experiences and practical strategies for recognition, prevention, and recovery. Groundbreaking for openly addressing mental health when such discussions were rare in the developer community.

Python, Requests, & The Standard Library (2013)

An examination of whether the wildly popular Requests library should be included in Python's standard library, weighing the benefits of official inclusion against the risks of losing the agility that made it successful.

Complete Talk Archive

Philosophy & Human-Centered Design

• Python for Humans (2012) — The foundational "for Humans" philosophy
• The Reality of Developer Burnout (2015) — Mental health in tech culture
• Awareness of Self — Consciousness and self-reflection in development

Python Ecosystem & Libraries

• Python, Requests, & The Standard Library (2013) — Standard library inclusion debate
• Python 2 vs Python 3 — Migration strategies and ecosystem impact
• Future Python Dependencies — Dependency management evolution

API Design & Development Practices

• API-Driven Development — Human-centered API design principles
• Responder — Modern Python web framework philosophy
• Flasky Goodness — Flask development patterns

Documentation & Communication

• Documentation is King — The critical role of clear communication
• Documentation at Scale — Managing docs for large projects
• Growing Open Source Seeds — Building sustainable communities

Platform & Infrastructure

• 12-Factor — Application deployment methodologies
• Heroku 101 — Platform-as-a-service principles

Speaking Philosophy

These talks reflect a consistent philosophy: technology should serve human consciousness rather than exploit it. Whether discussing API design, mental health, or open source communities, the underlying question remains the same—how do we build tools that amplify human capability rather than constrain it?

The evolution of these presentations tracks my own development from purely technical concerns toward understanding the deeper implications of our work. Every line of code shapes consciousness; every API teaches users how to think about their problems. This recursive responsibility runs through all the talks, even when not explicitly stated.

Code Typeface Used

• Operator Mono by Hoefler & Co.

These presentations laid groundwork for later insights about programming as spiritual practice, human-AI collaboration, and consciousness-serving technology design. The same principles that make good APIs make good spiritual practice: patient attention to what actually serves rather than what appears impressive.