About Rubber Dux

Rubber Dux is an engineering collective focused on understanding software from the ground up.

We explore:

  • .NET and modern application development, informed by first principles and production experience,
  • AI and AI-assisted engineering workflows, tested through hands-on experimentation,
  • Software craftsmanship, clean architecture, and pragmatic design decisions,
  • APIs and systems thinking, with a focus on constraints and real-world trade-offs,
  • Tooling, automation, and developer experience, treated as engineering problems,
  • Opinionated viewpoints, reasoned explicitly and debated openly.

Thinking Out Loud

Thinking out loud is our method.

We make our reasoning explicit: assumptions, trade-offs, failed ideas, and the constraints that shape decisions. Instead of presenting polished conclusions, we show the path that leads there.

This approach favors clarity over cleverness and understanding over authority. The goal is not to convince by assertion, but to reason in the open so ideas can be examined, challenged, and improved.

What We Care About

Clear thinking.
Clean code.
The courage to question assumptions.

Instead of repeating patterns blindly, we break problems down, test our reasoning, and rebuild solutions that fit the problem at hand.

Trial, Error, and Craftsmanship

Software engineering is an iterative craft.

Progress is made through:

  • false starts that reveal hidden constraints,
  • debugging sessions that expose flawed assumptions,
  • refactoring both code and mental models.

We treat mistakes as data and iteration as a strength. What we publish reflects real engineering work — including revisions, corrections, and lessons learned — without rewriting history to make the outcome appear inevitable.

Different Ducks. Shared Principles.

Rubber Dux is written by practicing engineers.
Each duck represents a distinct voice, background, and way of thinking — but all share the same principles.

Different perspectives are a strength.
Disagreement sharpens ideas.
Curiosity drives progress.

The Ducks

Running Duck

Helmi - Duck

Systems, architecture, and long-term thinking.
Cycling Duck

Hong - The Adventurous Duck

Exploration, experimentation, and learning in motion.
Duck-Vader

Duck-Vader

Strong opinions, sharp edges, and engineering discipline.

Rubber Dux is written by practicing engineers.
Each duck represents a different voice, background, and way of thinking—but all share the same principles.

Different perspectives are a strength.
Disagreement sharpens ideas.
Curiosity drives progress.

Why “Rubber Dux”

Rubber duck debugging is not about having the answers.

It is about slowing down, explaining your thinking, and discovering the flaws yourself.

That mindset — patient, inquisitive, and honest — is what Rubber Dux stands for.

We are not here to preach.
We are here to think — out loud.

Different ducks. Shared principles.