Benjamin Riefenstahl  <Benjamin.Riefenstahl@epost.de> wrote:
+---------------
| michael@bcect.com (Michael Sullivan) writes:
| > [...] GreatHacker[tm], and their defining feature is an
| > unwillingness to do boring things, except as truly *necessary*
| > infrastructure for some deeply interesting thing.
| 
| And I thought that was already part and parcel of the definition of
| "self-respecting human being."  At least when we are talking about
| spending something like 40 hours and more per week every week of your
| life on it.  Even if you do not work on truly Great Things.
+---------------

Yup. For a non-programming exposition of the same principle, see
Robert A. Heinlein's delightful short story, "The Tale of the Man
Who Was Too Lazy to Fail" (a chapter of the longer novel, "Time
Enough for Love"). Sound-bite summary:

    "The short story is really about how a man with ingenuity
    organizes his life so that he can accomplish the most with
    the least amount of effort."[1]

Another Heinlein quote from the same novel [TEfL]:

    Progress isn't made by early risers. It's made by lazy men
    trying to find easier ways to do something.

Lisp macros, anyone?  ;-}

+---------------
| It is also my experience though that lots of ordinary managers don't
| seem to understand that.
+---------------

Indeed!  ;-}


-Rob

[1] Denis Konouck <dkonouck@cap.gwu.edu>, posted 1994-11-10
    to the "Law-Lib" mailing list.

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Rob Warnock			<rpw3@rpw3.org>
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