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A related quip: "writing is nature's way of letting you know how sloppy your thinking is". This generalizes beyond what's strictly though of as a "plan" (but i
by ithkuil 4y ago
A related quip: "writing is nature's way of letting you know how sloppy your thinking is".
This generalizes beyond what's strictly though of as a "plan" (but if you squint enough may have some plan-like elements to it).
There are many forms of documents that we engineers produce and they serve different purposes at different times. And some of their uses may not be very effective in most cases, leading to wasting too much time in over-specifying a system that has not yet been built.
Yet, writing design documents / specs may be still useful despite the output not being useful. It's the act of writing it that yields most value.
- AlbertCory 4y agoyou just explained exactly what Eisenhower was saying, but in many more words.
- ithkuil 4y agoIf I had more time I would have written a shorter comment. I thought I added a nuance to what Eisenhower's said (or at least to how I noticed people interpret it) but apparently I did a poor job and adding more words would just make it worse.
- AlbertCory 4y agoYou explained an aphorism, which is fine, but you added the gratuitous "sloppy thinking" which is not. An aphorism by definition doesn't contain all the nuances. If we looked through Eisenhower's whole life, which is pretty well documented, I'm sure we could find lengthy explanations of his approach to war.
- ithkuil 4y agoActually I replied with another aphorism (attributed to Dick Guindon and later expanded by Leslie Lamport as "Mathematics is nature's way to tell you how sloppy your writing is") What I try to add here is the fact that other forms of technical writing can be seen as forms of planning and thus there is a connection between the two aphorisms