Why Smart People Have Bad Ideas
Aug 27, 2007 20:29
Paul
Graham wrote an interesting article two years
ago, explaining why smart
people sometimes have some really bad
ideas. We've
all been there: we, or someone we work with,
comes up with something that seems both logical
and exciting at the time. But as things play out,
it turns out to have been a terrible idea.
I often have this trouble with projects or quick hacks I come up with: I'll get an idea, put it on the back burner and let it simmer for a while. When I revisit it a few days or weeks later, it still seems like a great idea, and I'll dive in. Sooner or later, it turns out not just to be a waste of effort and/or a dead end, but colossally idiotic, to boot. Now, at least I have more excuses for the next time it happens.
I often have this trouble with projects or quick hacks I come up with: I'll get an idea, put it on the back burner and let it simmer for a while. When I revisit it a few days or weeks later, it still seems like a great idea, and I'll dive in. Sooner or later, it turns out not just to be a waste of effort and/or a dead end, but colossally idiotic, to boot. Now, at least I have more excuses for the next time it happens.
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