2005-05-05 15:06:28.426902+00 by Dan Lyke 5 comments
QOTD, from John over at Genehack:
...when confronted with an unescapable task that is difficult or unpleasant, people generally reveal themselves to be one of two types. There's the "okay, that sucks -- now how are we going to do it?" type, and there's the "oh, that's impossible -- we can't do that!" type. That latter group is just a pain in the ass, really.
[ related topics: Quotes John S Jacobs-Anderson Work, productivity and environment ]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2005-05-05 20:51:33.400022+00 by: ebradway
But there's a third group:
"Let's wait until tomorrow to see if it gets any better/easier/maybe we'll die before we have to do it..."
#Comment Re: made: 2005-05-06 11:56:56.749513+00 by: meuon
Sometimes, when faced with the 'impossible', waiting a while gives perspective.. sometimes it just dies: "Why did we have to do THAT?!?" - Unfortunately, I seem to be one of those that jumps on it, solves the 'nut' of the problem but never finishes it up.
#Comment Re: made: 2005-05-06 22:03:11.494561+00 by: Jerry Kindall
Fourth group: "I sure am glad it's not my job to do that!"
#Comment Re: made: 2005-05-07 00:24:21.757688+00 by: Shawn
Fifth group: Says "it couldn't/shouldn't/wouldn't work that way", while already plotting how to do it anyway.
Initial reactions are probably one of my worst flaws. I have a tendency to act somewhat less than gung-ho at the presentation of an impossible/nearly impossible/unpleasant task, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in, or willing to, tackle it. Unfortunately, John's quote is just more evidence supporting my experience that most people assume it does.
Shawn's QOTD: "I don't have to fawn over the project to be interested in it."
#Comment Re: [Entry #7899] Re: made: 2005-05-10 02:11:02.822711+00 by: Unknown, from NNTP
Shawn <prefersanonymity_224@flutterby.com> writes:
> Fifth group: Says "it couldn't/shouldn't/wouldn't work that way", > while already plotting how to do it anyway.
Two groups of people in the world: those who realize that when somebody talks about there being two groups of people, it's a fscking metaphor, and those who don't.
> Initial reactions are probably one of my worst flaws.
The particular $ORK situation that lead to the comment that Dan posted didn't have anything to do with anybody's initial reaction. It had to do with a bunch of developers being told that security chickens were coming home to roost, and their instant and continuing denial of the realities of the situation. I'm not instantly gung-ho about a lot of crap either, but when confronted with something I don't particularly want to do, I may question whether it's necessary, but I don't claim it's impossible. We work in IT; doing the impossible is in the job description.
cheers, john. -- Looking for a compiler bug is the strategy of LAST resort. LAST resort. Mark Jason Dominus's Good Advice #11907