#122 Why Writing Is Thinking , and What Data Engineers Can Learn from It - with Simon Späti

In this podcast episode, I’m joined by Simon Späti, long-time BI and data engineering expert turned full-time technical writer and author of the living book Data Engineering Design Patterns.

 We talk about:

• His 20-year journey from SQL-heavy BI to modern Data Engineering
• Why switching from employee to full-time author wasn’t planned, but necessary
• How he uses a “Second Brain” system to manage and publish his knowledge
• Why writing is a tool for learning, not just sharing
• The concept of convergent evolution in data tooling: when old and new solve the same problem
• The underrated power of data modeling and pattern recognition in a hype-driven industry

Simon also shares practical advice for building your own public knowledge base, and why Markdown and simplicity still win in the long run.

Whether you're into tools, systems, or lifelong learning, this one’s a thoughtful deep dive.

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About Simon Späti:

Simon is a Data Engineer and Technical Author with 20+ years of experience in the data field. He's the author of the Data Engineering Blog (ssp.sh), curator of the Data Engineering Vault (vault.ssp.sh), and currently writes a book about Data Engineering Design Patterns (dedp.online). Simon maintains an awareness of open-source data engineering technologies and enjoys sharing his knowledge with the community.

Socials: Bluesky, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, YouTube