Rigor Mortis (Avoiding) • Pragmatic Dave Thomas • YOW! 2015

Pattern matching is a powerful feature in Elixir that helps write cleaner, more declarative code by matching on both shape and content of data structures

Functional programming in Elixir encourages thinking about transformations of state rather than maintaining state, leading to more maintainable and testable code

State machines can be implemented elegantly using pattern matching and function heads, without needing external libraries

Learning new programming languages and paradigms helps expand your thinking and prevent getting stuck in comfortable but limiting patterns

The Erlang VM provides excellent concurrency, reliability and hot code swapping capabilities for Elixir applications

Breaking complex problems down into simple transformations and pattern matches often results in more natural implementations than using conditional logic

The language we use shapes how we think about problems - switching languages can provide new perspectives and approaches

Code maintainability improves when programs reflect their specifications directly through pattern matching and transformations

Understanding functional concepts like pure functions and immutability leads to more predictable and testable code

Getting out of your comfort zone and trying new techniques/languages is crucial for growth as a developer in a rapidly changing industry