4 ms·

If someone asks "Can you just..." and you can't do it for some reason, then can you just explain it to them why you can't do it? Getting mad about doesn't solv

by 33a 10y ago

If someone asks "Can you just..." and you can't do it for some reason, then can you just explain it to them why you can't do it? Getting mad about doesn't solve anything and passes up a great opportunity to fill in their missing information.

dmreedy 10y ago
Possibly. On the other hand, my experience with 'just' is symptomatic not of a knowledge gap, but an _understanding_ gap. A knowledge gap might exist between two peers with similar levels of domain knowledge but slightly differing portfolios, and can thus be resolved quickly via reference to mutually understood reference points. Two astrophysicists might have a knowledge gap between each other. An understanding gap is more like a model gap; the people between which the gaps exist usually have entirely different domains with different useful models. An understanding gap might exist between a salesperson and a developer, or a chemist and a biologist; there might be shared reference points to serve as foundations for bridging the gap, but they're much further up the ontological hierarchy, as it were, and may require entire reconstruction from first principles in the worst cases. This leads to interesting conversation and personal development, for sure, but it's also not a way to quickly resolve what may be a pressing issue. Closing an understanding gap might take a four-year degree, or at the very least, weeks or months of reading and learning. I agree that getting mad about it is not the way to go; but this latter case is where 'just' is most dangerous; to get a bit Rumsfeldian, the unknown unknowns on the part of the 'juster' often run very deep, and would require extensive education to mend.
- forrestthewoods 10y ago
  This is my favorite comment to my post. On HN or else where. Thank you for sharing.
willismichael 10y ago
I love how your solution includes another "can you just", but I can't tell whether that was an intentional joke or not.
adwf 10y ago
A lot of the time you can't define exactly why you can't do something though. If someone asked me to just write a natural language recognition app, I'd be quite excited to give it a go, but instinctively I know it's a heck of a task. It's infeasible rather than impossible. A bit like asking a golfer why he doesn't just hit the ball straight on the green every drive. It's instinct to attempt, but difficult to explain why it's not going to work. Not to mention if I had to explain every time why I can't just hit the green, I'd get pretty pissed off with people asking!
pjc50 10y ago
Now you have two problems: the original one, and dealing with the person who doesn't understand why you've not solved it already and thinks you're dumb.
gutnor 10y ago
You have guys working for weeks/months on a project, getting expert knowledge, analysing new requirement continuously. The number of times I have had, over the course of months, to explain again and again why you can't "just" remove feature X from project Y to make it doable in less than D days it is currently estimated to. One day, I would commit to do it because at that moment I didn't remember that specific bit while being quizzed in an unrelated meeting that veered into offtopic armchair solution designing by bored "solution architects" (i.e. middle manager who last looked at code a decade ago)
dmansen 10y ago
I get defensive when somebody dismisses my domain knowledge with a quick "why not just do this"? I'm not happy with myself when I react this way, but I do. Therefore, when I'm in a position where I want to throw out a quick "can you just", I try to phrase it differently, because I know how frustrating that comment can be.
- jnevill 10y ago
  I'm more interested in finding a solution to the problem then I am about protecting my domain of knowledge, or insuring that my coworkers are aware that my domain is special and mine. I can't help but feel that this article comes from a perspective of competitiveness rather than problem solving. Perhaps the reason so many seem to agree with this (even tentatively) is the competitive culture in so much of IT (at least that I read about). I'm glad we don't have that where I work.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - dmansen 10y ago
    I'm also more interested in finding a solution. Unfortunately, I'm also human, and defensiveness isn't something I can make magically disappear. I don't see competitiveness here. I want to see my teammates as people and empathize with them as such.
more_corn 10y ago
Can you just explain to me all of your specific knowledge about your area of expertise? I'd like to know why my naive understanding of your specialty doesn't resemble reality. Thanks.

by 33a 10y ago

dmreedy 10y ago

Possibly. On the other hand, my experience with 'just' is symptomatic not of a knowledge gap, but an _understanding_ gap. A knowledge gap might exist between two peers with similar levels of domain knowledge but slightly differing portfolios, and can thus be resolved quickly via reference to mutually understood reference points. Two astrophysicists might have a knowledge gap between each other. An understanding gap is more like a model gap; the people between which the gaps exist usually have entirely different domains with different useful models. An understanding gap might exist between a salesperson and a developer, or a chemist and a biologist; there might be shared reference points to serve as foundations for bridging the gap, but they're much further up the ontological hierarchy, as it were, and may require entire reconstruction from first principles in the worst cases. This leads to interesting conversation and personal development, for sure, but it's also not a way to quickly resolve what may be a pressing issue. Closing an understanding gap might take a four-year degree, or at the very least, weeks or months of reading and learning. I agree that getting mad about it is not the way to go; but this latter case is where 'just' is most dangerous; to get a bit Rumsfeldian, the unknown unknowns on the part of the 'juster' often run very deep, and would require extensive education to mend.

forrestthewoods 10y ago
This is my favorite comment to my post. On HN or else where. Thank you for sharing.

willismichael 10y ago

I love how your solution includes another "can you just", but I can't tell whether that was an intentional joke or not.

adwf 10y ago

A lot of the time you can't define exactly why you can't do something though. If someone asked me to just write a natural language recognition app, I'd be quite excited to give it a go, but instinctively I know it's a heck of a task. It's infeasible rather than impossible. A bit like asking a golfer why he doesn't just hit the ball straight on the green every drive. It's instinct to attempt, but difficult to explain why it's not going to work. Not to mention if I had to explain every time why I can't just hit the green, I'd get pretty pissed off with people asking!

pjc50 10y ago

Now you have two problems: the original one, and dealing with the person who doesn't understand why you've not solved it already and thinks you're dumb.

gutnor 10y ago

You have guys working for weeks/months on a project, getting expert knowledge, analysing new requirement continuously. The number of times I have had, over the course of months, to explain again and again why you can't "just" remove feature X from project Y to make it doable in less than D days it is currently estimated to. One day, I would commit to do it because at that moment I didn't remember that specific bit while being quizzed in an unrelated meeting that veered into offtopic armchair solution designing by bored "solution architects" (i.e. middle manager who last looked at code a decade ago)

dmansen 10y ago

I get defensive when somebody dismisses my domain knowledge with a quick "why not just do this"? I'm not happy with myself when I react this way, but I do. Therefore, when I'm in a position where I want to throw out a quick "can you just", I try to phrase it differently, because I know how frustrating that comment can be.

jnevill 10y ago
I'm more interested in finding a solution to the problem then I am about protecting my domain of knowledge, or insuring that my coworkers are aware that my domain is special and mine. I can't help but feel that this article comes from a perspective of competitiveness rather than problem solving. Perhaps the reason so many seem to agree with this (even tentatively) is the competitive culture in so much of IT (at least that I read about). I'm glad we don't have that where I work.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- dmansen 10y ago
  I'm also more interested in finding a solution. Unfortunately, I'm also human, and defensiveness isn't something I can make magically disappear. I don't see competitiveness here. I want to see my teammates as people and empathize with them as such.

more_corn 10y ago

Can you just explain to me all of your specific knowledge about your area of expertise? I'd like to know why my naive understanding of your specialty doesn't resemble reality. Thanks.