As software engineers, it's easy to put on blinders and think about code as just...well, code. Some unique, special snowflake with its own rules, with little to be learned from other systems.

Balderdash. There's plenty out there in the world that mirrors the way code works. Remember, programming languages are for people, not machines!

This presentation is about systems - systems in code, and systems elsewhere, and how they really have a lot in common. I'll talk about murder in the 13th century, disease prevention in Africa, cicadas, and more - and how all of them can make you a better coder.