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> All of this reminds me of stories about early Google, and how the company systematically rethought everything from first principles. Sometimes this was just a
by eridius 7y ago
> All of this reminds me of stories about early Google, and how the company systematically rethought everything from first principles. Sometimes this was just a painful waste of time, as it learned the lessons everyone else had already learned, but sometimes the result was Gmail or Maps.
Didn't Gmail start as someone's 20% project, rather than something that was "systematically rethought from first principles"?
- irq 7y agoWhy can’t it be both a 20% project and rethought from first principals?
- jasode 7y ago>Didn't Gmail start as someone's 20% project, Gmail's creator, Paul Buchheit, said it was not a 20% project: https://time.com/43263/gmail-10th-anniversary/ https://time.com/43263/gmail-10th-anniversary/ excerpt: >Gmail is often given as a shining example of the fruits of Google’s 20 percent time, its legendary policy of allowing engineers to divvy off part of their work hours for personal projects. Paul Buchheit, Gmail’s creator, disabused me of this notion. From the very beginning, “it was an official charge,” he says. “I was supposed to build an email thing.”
- jimbokun 7y agoIsn't encouraging employees to systematically rethink things from first principles, one of the core motivations for 20% projects?