"For inspiration to strike, it has to find you working." -- Author?
Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating
21–30 of 46 posts
Re: Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating
#22If I learned anything from NaNoWriMo and from Stephen King's "On Writing", the labor counts much more than creativity. My 400,000 words of novel-writing (and counting) might only contain a few gems, but it contains far more than the empty page of someone still waiting for inspiration to strike. Sitting down and pounding out whatever you can for an hour or two a day will make you a successful writer faster than anythi…
Derek Sivers has another good article on this: http://sivers.org/qlq
I think the general 10,000 hours theory suggests that for the first ~2,000 hours of a new skill, all practice is deep practice (exact # of hours depends on the skill, of course.) That means that for the first few years, quantity of practice is more important than anything else. You'll eventually hit a plateau and need to practice in a different way to continue improving, but that will only ever apply to a few skills throughout your lifetime.
Re: Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
There were better artists, and better engineers, but he certainly had a fertile imagination, and who knows, maybe freedom of schedule was part of that.
who were better artists, engineers during his time?
It is often claimed that Leonardo da Vinci was an all-round genius. In the areas that I can judge he was an amateur at best (mathematics, physics and engineering). He did not contribute anything new to mathematics and physics, and I don't see any evidence that he even understood any mathematics or physics of his time. Hardly any of his "engineering" actually worked (he was an excellent illustrator however). Whether he was a good artist is of course subjective.
Re: Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
who were better artists, engineers during his time?
when Leonardo was young he sketched Brunelleschi's machines for lifting a bronze bell to the peak of the cathedral dome he also built: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunelleschi
Still not as impressive as Davinci whom had very exact sketches of anotomy almost second to none during his time. Not to mention his sketches of flying machines. You need multiple artists and engineers to match all of Davinci's talents.
Re: Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating
#25I can see the CEO of startup "X" printing this article and showing to their "whiny" developers so they stop asking for a better work environment where their boss doesn't try to micro-manage them all the time and distract them.
It seems like he doesn't care about when he works, but he has long uninterrupted work times, which is great, and it's what most developers ask for.
Re: Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't see the purpose and don't have the time to have a long, detailed argument about this, particularly when you have begun by putting the words "during his time" in my mouth. The supremacy of Leonardo is contentious and shouldn't be taken as dogma. If you want to become an excellent engineer or artist then you will probably be better served by getting educated, and logging many hours in progressively more difficu…
So basically you are being called out and finding no way to defend your statement now you are acting all high and mighty.
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Re: Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
when Leonardo was young he sketched Brunelleschi's machines for lifting a bronze bell to the peak of the cathedral dome he also built: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunelleschi
Still not as impressive as Davinci whom had very exact sketches of anotomy almost second to none during his time. Not to mention his sketches of flying machines. You need multiple artists and engineers to match all of Davinci's talents.
Do you think da Vinci performing and documenting dissections is strong evidence of his procrastination?
FYI my six year-old can also draw machines that can't actually fly.
Re: Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating
#28Elizabeth Gilbert (authored Eat Pray Love) had some similar thoughts in this fantastic TED talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA
Re: Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating
#29(This sounds ranty, but...) I'm one of the odd developers that doesn't obsess over tools. I worked with four different editors, last year - vico, vim, sublime, and eclipse - and I can't say that I'm attached to any of them. I don't complain when I can't use my favorite vim or sublime shortcuts (I don't even know a lot), and it doesn't phase me when I have to hack some code on my 13" MBP instead of my 24" monitor at w…
Yes I agree. I've never felt that I shipped a product late because it took me too long to type. A good editor and a nice setup certainly help me feel better, but I think it's very easy to get carried away.
Re: Chuck Close on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Problem-Solving vs. Problem-Creating
#30I can see the CEO of startup "X" printing this article and showing to their "whiny" developers so they stop asking for a better work environment where their boss doesn't try to micro-manage them all the time and distract them. It seems like he doesn't care about when he works, but he has long uninterrupted work times, which is great, and it's what most developers ask for.
And then the employees of startup X would tell the CEO that they should be working for 6 hours a day rather than 16.