Heh. This was the last thing I expected to see on HN. Team Merlin!
He used to be Merlin Mann.
Merlin's Wisdom Project
31–40 of 68 posts
Re: Merlin's Wisdom Project
#32Who?
Was wondering if everyone was supposed to know who this was....read some of the comments that mention these kinds of wisdom lists ending up on HN here and there... It's like a name that seems sorta familiar but dunno if it just sounds like someone else from tech or something. Interesting a quick HN search shows a bunch of shares posts that got any traction but they're all like 14-15 years ago? Was Merlin Mann more of…
he was behind the inbox zero philosophy
Re: Merlin's Wisdom Project
#33Im not particularly fond of these types of lists, but given the author and the material posted, this is definitely an exception.
One thing I didnt quite get:
> Every project is a triangle made of time, money, and quality; shortening the length of one side necessarily lengthens one or—more often—both of the other sides.
If I'm assuming the longer a side is, the "more" of it that is required, then the way I understand it is that the "quality" side might need to rather be "inverse quality", such that shortening the quality side length increases quality. As per the original statement, a reduction in quality (shortening the quality length) increases time and/or money, whereas IME when building something out, quality results come at a (time/money) cost. I guess it half makes sense if the perspective is that defering on quality (shortening the line) costs more in the long run (increasing length of the other 2 lines). But then taken from the perspective of the other 2 sides of the triangle: reducing money or time doesnt result in an increase (longer side) of quality... typically the opposite.
So genuine question: did I misunderstand the point?
Re: Merlin's Wisdom Project
#34> Learn about Chesterton's Fence. Then, actively resist altering a given situation before you understand the reasons why it's remained unchanged for so long.
This is probably the most important advice for developers who start a new job, or have to work with existing code. Trying to refactor code or replacing it with a new micro service requires that you understand the old code. If you are not willing or able to take the time to understand it, you do not know enough to replace it.
I have made this mistake several times in the past, but it has taken time for me to learn this lesson. I have complex data flows and error handling and thought I could simplify it or rewrite it as a new service. I would later find out that the old code handled scalability, edge cases or unknown external dependencies that my new code did not. These issues appeared in small "drips" over time, so it was easy to focus on the individual bugs instead of noticing the larger pattern. This led me to believe that the next rewrite would turn out better. The real lesson is that I did not know enough about the existing code and made assumptions that turned out to be incorrect.
Sometimes you need to make changes because the old system has started to "rot", which makes it hard to add new features. Just make sure that it is accidental complexity and not necessary complexity.
Re: Merlin's Wisdom Project
#35> If the thing you’re cooking doesn’t smell or sound like food yet, it’s probably not food yet.
Thanks !
Re: Merlin's Wisdom Project
#36[deleted]
Re: Merlin's Wisdom Project
#37Im not particularly fond of these types of lists, but given the author and the material posted, this is definitely an exception. One thing I didnt quite get: > Every project is a triangle made of time, money, and quality; shortening the length of one side necessarily lengthens one or—more often—both of the other sides. If I'm assuming the longer a side is, the "more" of it that is required, then the way I understand…
I think it’s the class pick two conundrum. Want it quickly and high quality? It’s going to take a lot of money. Want cheap and high quality? It’s going to take a lot of time. Want it fast and cheap? Quality will suffer.
Re: Merlin's Wisdom Project
#38Wait, what Flintstones am I supposed to have watched? The Hana-Barbera cartoon was so good that it deserves to be the go-to example for things that young people "somehow haven't heard of"?
[deleted]
Re: Merlin's Wisdom Project
#39> Never argue on the internet. No one will remember whether you won or lost the argument; they'll just remember that you are the sort of person who argues on the internet. This is burned in my mind and doesn't anchor enough of my judgement of what to engage with on the internet yet, but I've never yet been steered wrong by it. EDIT - This is equally applicable to realms outside of the internet. You have to be really…
Here's a related piece of advice from Gabe Newell that I've always found rather poignant.
> You have to stop thinking that you're in charge and start thinking that you're having a dance. We used to think we're smart [...] but nobody is smarter than the internet. [...] One of the things we learned pretty early on is 'Don't ever, ever try to lie to the internet - because they will catch you. They will de-construct your spin. They will remember everything you ever say for eternity.'
Re: Merlin's Wisdom Project
#40Im not particularly fond of these types of lists, but given the author and the material posted, this is definitely an exception. One thing I didnt quite get: > Every project is a triangle made of time, money, and quality; shortening the length of one side necessarily lengthens one or—more often—both of the other sides. If I'm assuming the longer a side is, the "more" of it that is required, then the way I understand…
I think it’s the class pick two conundrum. Want it quickly and high quality? It’s going to take a lot of money. Want cheap and high quality? It’s going to take a lot of time. Want it fast and cheap? Quality will suffer.
I've always put it this way:
Things can get done quickly, correctly, or cheaply. Pick two.