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Learning to Unlearn: What Web Development Teaches Me About Problem-Solving

January 5, 2026 · Gautier
3 mins
Le grenier

When people imagine a developer at Pixevent, they often visualize Matrix-like code streams and mechanical keyboards. That’s the tip of the iceberg. In reality, 80% of our job isn’t “pumping out code,” it’s solving problems. After years of practice, I’ve realized the most crucial skill isn’t learning new languages, but the willingness to unlearn our certainties.

The Illusion of the Perfect Plan (and the Reality of the Field)

Early in my career, I spent hours designing the “perfect” architecture before writing a single line. It felt reassuring. It was also a monumental mistake. Development taught me that the “plan” never survives contact with project reality.

Unlearning the rigidity of the “Waterfall” model to embrace the flexibility of Agile was a revelation. Today, faced with a complex problem, I no longer try to foresee everything. I accept uncertainty, build a quick prototype (“Fail Fast”), learn from failure, and iterate. This lesson extends far beyond the realm of IT.

Debugging as a Philosophy of Life

Nothing is more frustrating than a stubborn bug. The natural reflex is to get stubborn, try random solutions, or blame the machine. Development forced me to unlearn this impatience.

Debugging is the scientific method applied:

  • Isolate variables.
  • Formulate a hypothesis.
  • Test it without bias.
  • Never Assume.

This mental rigor is incredibly powerful for solving team conflicts or business problems. If it’s not working, don’t accuse; isolate the issue.

“The true expert is not the one with all the answers, but the one who knows how to ask the right questions to unblock the situation.”

The Art of “Good Enough” vs. Perfectionism

This is the ultimate trap for the passionate developer: premature optimization. Wanting the code to be the most elegant, the highest performing possible, even if it delays launch by three months.

I had to learn to unlearn my technical perfectionism to focus on user value. An imperfect product live today is worth infinitely more than a perfect product sitting on a development server. At Pixevent, speed (“Swift”) doesn’t mean cutting corners, but knowing how to arbitrate between technical quality and the business necessity to ship.

Conclusion: Code Changes, Mindset Remains

The frameworks I used five years ago are obsolete. The ones I use today will be in five years. But this ability to adapt, to question one’s own mental models, and to decompose complexity is what defines a true technology partner.

Sources & Inspiration