Dialectical Synthesis

The concept of Dialectical Synthesis is derived from something called the Hegelian Dialectic.

This process involves taking diverse and seemingly conflicting concepts that become fused together into a new understanding that incorporates the original concepts.

The process can often feel mysterious and almost magical. Where does that insight come from that provides that new embracing understanding?

This concept is critical to understand the Agile Mindset.

One could argue, we have Alan Kay and the experience of programming in his Smalltalk language partially to thank. For it was this experience that important seeds were planted for what was to become Agile.

One of the powerful characteristics of Smalltalk was the ability for developers to code in rapid, iterative hacks. Small changes could be made to the program and, almost instantly, those changes could be tested in the program.

This ability, using what was called a "Just-in-Time compiler", allowed programmers to creatively code through quick trial and error experiments where each failure created a dialectical tension: "We thought this, but it is that. Could it be this, now that we know that?"

This experience was a radical departure from the typical experience where programmers had to wait for an entire program to be recompiled before the changes could be seen. This process could take several minutes, if not longer.

By iterating over and over again, a deeper understanding of the problem was quickly developed. This understanding would then lead to moments where solutions were realized in Eureka Moments when the problem was finally truly known and a solution found.