3 ms·

> Writing this all out makes me sound like a crazy person. What the hell am I doing with my life? Or, more importantly, what could I have been doing instead of

> Writing this all out makes me sound like a crazy person. What the hell am I doing with my life? Or, more importantly, what could I have been doing instead of doing all that? That's why your book is so good! Singular focus on one subject like this either causes insanity or genius. Examples: redis, Linux, sqlite, dwarf fortress, etc. I (believe, not sure) all were started by a single person who was insane by any measure to start those projects, but they became something that people love. If this is insanity, please keep going insane!

moonchild 7y ago
CMIIW, but I believe most of those projects were started with a relatively small (and reasonable) scope.
- battery_cowboy 7y ago
  Okay, well, there are plenty of others to choose from! I'm just trying to say that the result of this insanity was great.
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  Scope creep is one important way progress happens :).
- marvy 7y ago
  but this book started with a relatively small scope too
danielbarla 7y ago
I feel like this might be a required but insufficient condition for what Bob has achieved here. With both of his books, he has taken a somewhat dry topic (object oriented patterns, and now compilers / interpreters), and turned them into books anyone can understand. More importantly, he has somehow made them interesting, in a way that I have rarely seen before. I suspect you're right, the focus probably helps with the process of distilling the core concepts (which are necessary to convey meaning), as well as the writing style. Picking the right analogies, the right illustrations, then executing them to perfection. I guess the passion for the topic shines through in his writing. Massive congrats to Bob!
- vanderZwan 7y ago
  Because the topics were interesting to him, and his goal was to convey what made them interesting. All great teachers have this in common regarding the subjects they teach.

moonchild 7y ago

CMIIW, but I believe most of those projects were started with a relatively small (and reasonable) scope.

battery_cowboy 7y ago
Okay, well, there are plenty of others to choose from! I'm just trying to say that the result of this insanity was great.
TeMPOraL 7y ago
Scope creep is one important way progress happens :).
marvy 7y ago
but this book started with a relatively small scope too

danielbarla 7y ago

I feel like this might be a required but insufficient condition for what Bob has achieved here. With both of his books, he has taken a somewhat dry topic (object oriented patterns, and now compilers / interpreters), and turned them into books anyone can understand. More importantly, he has somehow made them interesting, in a way that I have rarely seen before. I suspect you're right, the focus probably helps with the process of distilling the core concepts (which are necessary to convey meaning), as well as the writing style. Picking the right analogies, the right illustrations, then executing them to perfection. I guess the passion for the topic shines through in his writing. Massive congrats to Bob!

vanderZwan 7y ago
Because the topics were interesting to him, and his goal was to convey what made them interesting. All great teachers have this in common regarding the subjects they teach.