OpenJS World: Glamorous JavaScript

During the OpenJS World open Keynote discussion, Anna Lytical deconstructs the world around them to create entertaining and educational coding tutorials. Anna Lytical is “a sickeningly entertaining and educational” drag queen specializing in technical education content creation. 

In this conversation, Anna highlights the parallels between a drag makeup look and coding. For example, in code the cost of importing a package could make your applications slower, larger or more confusing to contribute. While in make-up, it can take a lot of physical space to store. Anna uses a diagram of an eye to illustrate the grid and they use this diagram to help make it easier to understand code. In order to explain how the application of purple eyeshadow on the crease can be converted into a more polished look, they help to elucidate this by creating a new function. In this, they take two areas in the function to be their input, and they’ll get their color by adding new strings. The coding on the right side of the video directly corresponds with all the steps needed to create this make-up look.

Additionally, Anna explains what the Learning Ladder is and how they view the path of someone becoming a great engineer as a ladder. They talk about how sometimes the steps seem clear but the rungs seem to be too far apart. Sometimes people don’t always climb the standard ladder to a Computer Science career because they sometimes don’t have all the knowledge needed to take those steps. Anna explains that this is where their content comes in as it helps to bridge those gaps. 

Anna takes something people know, whether it is make-up, drag or JavaScript code and they combine it with something new by drawing connections and making it relatable to the viewers and their experiences. Anna nicely demonstrates how coding can be just as creative as make-up can be.

OpenJS World Full Video Here

Broken down by section:

Introduction 0:01

Understanding Drag 0:33

Cost of importing a package 2:58

The eye 3:18

Completed Make-up look and code 8:03

The Learning Ladder 9:23

Anna Lytical Courses 10:30

Closing comments 12:42

Thank you Anna Lytical for showing us the creative side of coding in a super entertaining way!