tstajduhar<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nOf these, it\u2019s the learning of an important personal lesson that concerns us here, which in the case of Top Gun was Maverick\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m not leaving my wingman\u201d epiphany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having learned in a previous scene the dangers of breaking formation in order to pursue personal glory, Maverick sticks to his training during the final dog fight with multiple faceless Soviet pilots, and stays with his designated partner aircraft despite pleas from another pilot to help him with the bogeys on his tail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not leaving my wingman,\u201d insists Maverick, and as a result he\u2019s able to provide cover for the other plane before going on to save the day to the tune of an awesome guitar solo. I\u2019m not ashamed to admit the scene still gives me goose bumps, although given earlier events in the film, the term \u201cgoose bumps\u201d is unfortunate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result of watching this film during my formative years, I associate the phrase \u201cI\u2019m not leaving my wingman\u201d with any occasion where someone sticks to their guns while under pressure as the result of lessons learnt from bitter past experience. Which brings me to software development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In software development, we generally know what we ought to do, but are often under pressure \u2014 either from others or ourselves \u2014 to do otherwise. We\u2019ve all checked in the quick fix rather than do the refactoring, telling ourselves we\u2019ll correct things later, only to be bitten by it in the future. It\u2019s hard in the face of delivery pressure to do the right thing, so I propose adopting \u201cI\u2019m not leaving my wingman\u201d as a mantra in times of doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can merge the branch and do the regression testing in the next release,\u201d a teammate might say. \u201cI\u2019m not leaving my wingman,\u201d we should respond. No time to set up a CI build? I\u2019m not leaving my wingman. Surely no need for source control so early in the project? I\u2019m not leaving my wingman. Do you really need to pair-program on that feature? I\u2019m literally not leaving my wingman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The benefits of this are twofold: for one, it helps keep us honest and true to our discipline. Secondly, it makes us appear slightly unhinged, discouraging further suggestions, or approaches of any kind, by anyone. (If this fails, try carrying round a set of dog tags which, when questioned, you can squeeze while closing you eyes and whispering, \u201cTalk to me, Goose\u2026\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was \u201cThought for the Day\u201d, now here\u2019s Cheap Trick with \u201cMighty Wings\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Top Gun (spurious beach volleyball scene notwithstanding) is an excellent film, and conforms admirably to the 80\u2019s action genre template: Troubled but gifted protagonist Ill-advised love interest Arch rival Wise old mentor Training montage Risky special move \/ prototype weapon Learning of important personal lesson Moment of crisis overcome by belief in one of either: … <\/p>\n
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![\"Image](\"https:\/\/miro.medium.com\/max\/1724\/1*ida67EWkNB4TLC3kBHu2EA.jpeg\" "\\"Joystick\\"\/")