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twanvl comments on Boring Advice Repository - Less Wrong Discussion

56 Post author: Qiaochu_Yuan 07 March 2013 04:33AM

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Comment author: Alicorn 07 March 2013 05:40:15AM 41 points [-]

If, realistically, you aren't going to do a thing, proceed immediately to figuring out the best way to not do it.

Comment author: twanvl 07 March 2013 11:42:59PM 13 points [-]

the best way to not do it.

This sounds too punchliney. What do you actually mean? What part of not doing it needs figuring out? How to avoid it? What to do instead? Something else entirely?

Comment author: Alicorn 08 March 2013 04:11:42AM 17 points [-]

How to avoid it at minimal cost, retrieve the resources spent on preparing to do it, get some of the (refactored) results you wanted out of it, and update on the information that you're not going to do it to avoid being in situations where you're supposed to do equivalent things later.

Comment author: [deleted] 28 September 2014 12:35:14AM 0 points [-]

Can you give an example?

Comment author: Alicorn 28 September 2014 01:27:12AM 0 points [-]
Comment author: Matt_Simpson 08 March 2013 02:10:47AM 1 point [-]

The best way not to do something is to do the best thing you could be doing instead in the best way.