If you're ‘just a’ developer in a larger company, you may rarely get to actually fix these high-level problems you discover. You kind of have to live with it, which is frustrating.
And if you're working alone, too ‘high-level’ thinking may well slow down getting things done. If you don't have around someone with more pragmatic attitude, be sure to have a bit of it yourself. =)
I don't understand the lesson to be about "high-level problems", but about not seeing the forest for all the trees. A debugger can give an invaluably direct view of what is happening, but it can allow be a very narrow view.
But the debugger is not the problem - in fact, when you don't know the code perfectly, a debugger can be very useful in enabling you to form a sufficiently complete model of the code in the first place.
It only becomes a problem if, at that point, you keep looking at details rather than stopping to think about what you've learned.
That's why most people 'here' are probably not 'just a dev' at a larger company. There is a lot frustrating about that position.
I agree with your second remark; you need pragmatism, but yes, as I get older I notice that I solve bugs in my head instead of debugging in the usual fashion. I strive to type as little as possible and to do that you need to do a lot of head work; 20 years ago, I was the opposite.
Can't agree more. Infact at my current company working alone has led me to slow down on getting stuff done. my solution? Write obsessively, i.e to the extent of opening up 750words.com and putting down whatever thoughts interrupt work even if it is at 30 minute intervals.
If you're ‘just a’ developer in a larger company, you may rarely get to actually fix these high-level problems you discover. You kind of have to live with it, which is frustrating.
And if you're working alone, too ‘high-level’ thinking may well slow down getting things done. If you don't have around someone with more pragmatic attitude, be sure to have a bit of it yourself. =)