I was using a nice firefighter duck named Cleo, but he was underperforming so he had to be let go. Now I have Rufus:
I was afraid a mouse wouldn't be able to do a duck's job, but he threatened to sue so I had to give him a shot. Glad I did, he's proven as capable as any duck I've known.
Ah finally another duck. I was thinking if I should also get a toy named cover, because whenever I hear duck my brain autocompletes: ...and cover. Because of this shit: https://youtu.be/zMnKNHNfznE :-)
I should probably post a picture of myself. I don't have count on how many times people have asked me for help but figuring it out while explaining it to me. Or me to them probably just as often.
I'm a dev manager of a remote team: I would encourage my team to talk to each other over their favorite rubber animal anytime, if the opportunity is given.
This facilitates both knowledge sharing and teamwork.
When working on complex tasks, it's easy to get sucked into it and not see the wood for the trees. One of the best solutions is to talk it through with someone. Often, as you are explaining it, you will realise that it's not doing what you just said, but something different. You also sometimes realise that your solid logic is far less logical than it seemed, inside your own head.
Critically, none of these actually require the knowledge or interaction of the person you are talking to. Rather than explaining it to a colleague, and wasting their time, some people use an inanimate object. A rubber duck has become a common method. It's small, easy to source, and can sit on top of a monitor etc, with a face to talk too. Other personified toys also work just as well, as do pets, babies, or life partners etc.
Basically, it's a method of breaking a bad cycle, by getting out of your own head, and so realise where you keep f*****g up.