6 ms·

I've always loved that (also, sans theological content). It's good advice for anyone. It's strong statement because in one sentence it can give someone somethin

I've always loved that (also, sans theological content). It's good advice for anyone. It's strong statement because in one sentence it can give someone something that a lot of people may not have - self awareness in the face of anxiety.

cambalache 6y ago
I love it too, but let's be honest, the devil is in the details, I think most people agonize because they dont really know if their problem can or cannot be solved with more action from them. I for sure accept the things I really know I cannot change, and work in those I clearly know are under my control. The anxiety comes from those things I am lost in the sense I dont know if I should push more or I should give up.
- AtHeartEngineer 6y ago
  My next tattoo is representing "the devil is in the details". I've had so many discussions with people over the years where someone will say "why doesn't X company/government just do Y". Well, because it's very rarely that easy. Just use black magic, that'll solve all our problems right?
  - neutronicus 6y ago
    http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2009/04/have-you-ever-legalized-marijuana.html http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2009/04/have-you-ever-legali...
    - bonoboTP 6y ago
      The opposite of the "shit's easy" attitude, the "nothing can ever be done" is also bad. In the end, many countries and US states have answered all those questions and fleshed out the legislation to legalize marijuana. Just look around you, and you see tons of stuff that was done, despite the difficulty.
  - bonoboTP 6y ago
    On the other hand people "just do Z" every day. People make decisions and do stuff without infinitely agonizing over it. As a mundane example: "Why don't I just stand up and go to pee? My bladder is exploding." "Well, because you're kind of stupid, you should indeed go to pee." "But if it was that easy, I would have already done it 5 minutes ago!" Things are never settled and fully in balance. There are constantly surfacing opportunities to do something positive, ranging from straightforward to counter-intuitive. It's not good to shut down all thinking with "nope, surely can't be done; if it could be, people would have done it already". Thinking about why a company won't just do X or trying to put yourself in their shoes and come up with ideas is good mental exercise. Not everything is in a perfectly balanced out equilibrium. Otherwise there would be no profit made in this world. Why bother doing research? If something is easy to discover, why haven't people already discovered it? Of course I get the sentiment, you should think deeply before trying to revolutionize the strategy of a company. But ultimately the people who do decide on the strategy also don't precisely know what will be best. Nobody knows how one or another decision will actually pan out, in interaction with the real world with all the other things going on etc. At some point you have to say, I've got enough details now, I'll make a choice. It will never feel completely satisfying. Either way it pans out, there will be a bunch of people who will say "they told you so", even just by pure chance.
  - 67512376512735 6y ago
    Good idea. Things are never as easy as they look from the outside.
smoe 6y ago
I have mixed feelings about the quote, at least as far as I understand it or have heard it interpreted. Specifically when it comes to systematic change, be that in a code base, a companies organisation or a countries political system. The mindsets of people go trough the spectrum of such systems being as easy to change as snipping a finger (and that doing so is a good idea) to it being impossible or dangerous so you should not even try. From my perspective, pretty much anything can be changed in any direction. But it might take enormous effort to do so, way more than one could do alone and I might not even be around anymore when the change "finishes". While I could think of a hundred things that I would like to change or actually resist change, I only have the time and energy to focus on one or two at a time. So for me, having overworked myself in the past, it boils down to consciously think of what I should and can burden myself with, when I should give up something and what the realistic outcomes are to find a good mix between ambition, effectiveness and health.

cambalache 6y ago

I love it too, but let's be honest, the devil is in the details, I think most people agonize because they dont really know if their problem can or cannot be solved with more action from them. I for sure accept the things I really know I cannot change, and work in those I clearly know are under my control. The anxiety comes from those things I am lost in the sense I dont know if I should push more or I should give up.

AtHeartEngineer 6y ago
My next tattoo is representing "the devil is in the details". I've had so many discussions with people over the years where someone will say "why doesn't X company/government just do Y". Well, because it's very rarely that easy. Just use black magic, that'll solve all our problems right?
- neutronicus 6y ago
  http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2009/04/have-you-ever-legalized-marijuana.html http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2009/04/have-you-ever-legali...
  - bonoboTP 6y ago
    The opposite of the "shit's easy" attitude, the "nothing can ever be done" is also bad. In the end, many countries and US states have answered all those questions and fleshed out the legislation to legalize marijuana. Just look around you, and you see tons of stuff that was done, despite the difficulty.
- bonoboTP 6y ago
  On the other hand people "just do Z" every day. People make decisions and do stuff without infinitely agonizing over it. As a mundane example: "Why don't I just stand up and go to pee? My bladder is exploding." "Well, because you're kind of stupid, you should indeed go to pee." "But if it was that easy, I would have already done it 5 minutes ago!" Things are never settled and fully in balance. There are constantly surfacing opportunities to do something positive, ranging from straightforward to counter-intuitive. It's not good to shut down all thinking with "nope, surely can't be done; if it could be, people would have done it already". Thinking about why a company won't just do X or trying to put yourself in their shoes and come up with ideas is good mental exercise. Not everything is in a perfectly balanced out equilibrium. Otherwise there would be no profit made in this world. Why bother doing research? If something is easy to discover, why haven't people already discovered it? Of course I get the sentiment, you should think deeply before trying to revolutionize the strategy of a company. But ultimately the people who do decide on the strategy also don't precisely know what will be best. Nobody knows how one or another decision will actually pan out, in interaction with the real world with all the other things going on etc. At some point you have to say, I've got enough details now, I'll make a choice. It will never feel completely satisfying. Either way it pans out, there will be a bunch of people who will say "they told you so", even just by pure chance.
- 67512376512735 6y ago
  Good idea. Things are never as easy as they look from the outside.

smoe 6y ago

I have mixed feelings about the quote, at least as far as I understand it or have heard it interpreted. Specifically when it comes to systematic change, be that in a code base, a companies organisation or a countries political system. The mindsets of people go trough the spectrum of such systems being as easy to change as snipping a finger (and that doing so is a good idea) to it being impossible or dangerous so you should not even try. From my perspective, pretty much anything can be changed in any direction. But it might take enormous effort to do so, way more than one could do alone and I might not even be around anymore when the change "finishes". While I could think of a hundred things that I would like to change or actually resist change, I only have the time and energy to focus on one or two at a time. So for me, having overworked myself in the past, it boils down to consciously think of what I should and can burden myself with, when I should give up something and what the realistic outcomes are to find a good mix between ambition, effectiveness and health.