Rules, Hunches & Coinflips Slides from the NUX5 talk by Boon Sheridan, Friday 7th October 2016. 2016.nuxconf.uk / nuxuk.org Synopsis: In a world looking for rules of thumb, checklists, best practices, and guarantees, how do we know what we know? Even worse, how do we choose when every rule has an equal and opposite position? As knowledge increases and every dissenting opinion is available for citation, it becomes more important to set aside the mundane challenges … at least that’s what we’re told by a succession of books, speakers, and multi-media campaigns. How can one be expected to produce a manifesto, let alone get work done, when every other day someone else is muscling up to the church door with a new sheaf of papers to share with the world? Sanity (in the slimmest possible definition of the word) is only possible when one takes charge of their own body of knowledge, shakes it hard, and is mindful of what falls out. In this talk, I will plead a great deal, cajole a bit, and threaten my own notions of structure and knowledge in the hope you will do the same to yours.