Christopher Cowell is a technical trainer and instructional designer, formerly at GitLab and now at Instabase. A former developer, he shifted to training because of his own love of learning. He endorses the adage “if you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” He’s interested in understanding what makes learning durable. Why do we remember some things while forgetting others? What’s the best way to blend facts and skills so they support each other? How can detours into related topics aid understanding of key concepts? Chris believes the biggest problem with software is inadequate time spent on design and testing: the tech industry should do less, but do it better. He prefers training complete beginners, since their questions often expose design flaws in software or processes. He earned a B.A. in computer science at Harvard and a Ph.D. in philosophy at Berkeley. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his family, two cats, and a large tea collection.
