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Richard Hammings anecdotes of famous scientists would suggest otherwise... They may not look like they were working but They were always thinking on their probl
by j7ake 10y ago
Richard Hammings anecdotes of famous scientists would suggest otherwise... They may not look like they were working but They were always thinking on their problem. Working on a problem doesn't need to be done sitting in your desk but it can be done while on hikes with your colleagues or locked in the attic of your room.
Their minds were constantly thinking of their problems.
- bdavisx 10y agoI think about software development all the time too, but if I was in the office as often as I think about it, I would be so burnt out and depressed, I wouldn't get anything done.
- Asooka 10y agoOr otherwise said - "Your get your best ideas on the toilet/in the shower/walking around."
- biofox 10y agoLink to a transcript of Hamming's talk on the subject: http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html
- sova 10y agoYeah, just because it takes me 2 hours to physically type out the code does not mean I was not working on it mentally for weeks leading up to it. I think this is kind of the age-old question of "where does creativity happen" (replacing 'work' with 'creativity' in this context). Most physicists, philosophers, and mystics will maintain that time does not actually exist, but is a conceptual projection in a sphere of transformations, so trying to measure things like creativity and time may not lead to very useful correlates. However, the fact that one should focus ones effort in small, useful periods, is precisely what I take away from information such as this.
- SketchySeaBeast 10y agoI need to figure out a way to bill for time I've spent thinking about the problem rather than the time my butt was in the seat.
- gjjrfcbugxbhf 10y agoBill by results/projects not by time?