Mike's Notes
I was watching "A Learning System Made of Learning Parts" on Still Burning, an episode of Kent Beck's video blog.
Jessica Kerr joins Kent by the fire to argue that AI didn't take the programmer's job; it split it in two. The part we loved, crafting code by hand, has been commoditised like IKEA furniture. What's left is harder and more human: understanding what to build, proving it works, and stewarding the living "symmathesy" of people, code, and agents all learning from each other. They get into accelerated learning, why play is a signal you're learning, the loop that "becomes a noose," and choosing excitement over fear while the ground keeps shifting."
Resources
- https://newsletter.kentbeck.com/p/a-learning-system-made-of-learning
- https://jessitron.com/2018/04/15/the-origins-of-opera-and-the-future-of-programming/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9TABQqiDXU
- https://jessitron.com/bio/
- https://gotopia.tech/experts/65/jessica-kerr
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oeigCANJVQ&t=365s
References
- Symmathesy — A Word in Progress Proposing a New Word that Refers to Living Systems. Nora Bateson. Nora Bateson Foundation
Repository
- Home > Ajabbi Research > Library > Subscriptions > Still Burning
- Home > Ajabbi Research > Library > Authors > Kent Beck
- Home > Handbook >
Last Updated
02/08/2026
Jessica Kerr on Symmathesy
Jessica Kerr manages the Developer Relations team at honeycomb.io, because observability is one way our teams learn from our software. In speaking and teaching, Jess works across languages and communities, spreading cheerful deep thoughts. Code, tools, and people are not separable; all form the team that operates useful software.
Symmathesy is a term coined by filmmaker and systems theorist Nora Bateson in 2015 to describe a learning system made of learning parts, emphasising mutual learning that occurs within and between living contexts. Derived from the Greek roots sym (together) and mathesi (to learn), it serves as a response to mechanical, rigid frameworks by shifting the focus from individual elements to the dynamic relationships that generate evolution and adaptation.
In a symmathesy, learning is not an isolated process of acquiring information; it is an ongoing, multi-contextual process of mutual adjustment and calibration.
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