How to talk to people about immutability

A conversation over dinner nine months ago changed how I both thought about immutability as well as how I talked to others about it. At this dinner, I casually brought up that I was writing some documentation about immutability. Across the table, I heard someone incredulously ask “Your writing what about immutability? For... your job?” 

These questions came from a friend of my partner who happens to be a tenured professor of philosophy. I had a vague understanding that immutability was a term that was also used outside of tech, but this conversation forced me to not take for granted any understanding of immutability when I was talking about it to others. Having to engage someone who has devoted much of their life to the study of immutability (but not exactly how we use it in tech) created new deeper, understanding for myself as well.

I’ll go over how immutability, to many people both inside, and outside, of tech, can seem like a confusing, funny-sounding idea in the context of software. Then, I’ll talk about how you take that confusion and overlay sound, practical, and easy-to-understand concepts, exercises, and techniques to make the topic relatable. You’ll leave with new tools that will help you share the powerful concepts of immutable software with others and maybe convince a few new folks along the way.

Consider this to be a meta immutability talk, as such it is applicable to all areas of immutability and immutable software.