savageorange comments on What are your rules of thumb? - Less Wrong

19 Post author: DataPacRat 15 February 2013 03:59PM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Article Navigation

Comments (75)

Comments (75)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: savageorange 16 February 2013 12:09:09AM *  10 points [-]

Thanks for introducing me to the IFR. I now have a card (amongst many) on my bulletin board saying

"The ideal system -

  • Occupies no space
  • Weighs nothing
  • Takes no labor to implement
  • Requires no maintenance
  • Delivers benefit without harm

And most importantly

  • Does not exist"

If you constantly invent systems, this is a very useful reminder to ask yourself whether the system actually gives greater utility than it's encumbrance.

Comment author: John_Maxwell_IV 16 February 2013 04:50:18AM *  4 points [-]

It's interesting how the heuristic that makes you get better as a programmer/engineer (deliberately attack hard problems) is simultaneously a terrible one to apply when doing anything serious...

Comment author: Emile 18 February 2013 09:08:12PM 1 point [-]

Yep, though it becomes less surprising when you consider that if we didn't have any reason to attack hard problems, we wouldn't need a heuristic to tell us not to. We don't need a heuristic to remind us to not eat sand.

Comment author: savageorange 16 February 2013 06:17:57AM 1 point [-]

Programming, engineering, visual art, music, writing, it's all similar. You do a lot of studies where you capture things in intricate and intimate detail, but when you go to make a product for a purpose, that history of studying tells you what to leave out to build a harmonious and compelling system.

Sculpture is probably a good metaphor for it.

Something in my brain really wants me to bring up Sturgeon's Law here, so there it is :)

Powered by Reddit Powered by Reddit