August 2009

The fatal flaw in the concept of trivia is that it mistakes information for knowledge. There is no end to information. Some say the entire universe is made from it, when you get right down to the bottom, under the turtles. There is, alas, quite a shortage of knowledge. I think I will recite this paragraph the next time I’m asked a trivia question.

via Roger Ebert’s Journal: Archives.

Simply marvelous.

“Every line of code is a user interface and needs to be designed and tweaked and tested the way user interfaces are; for comprehension, flexibility and intuitiveness.”

via Every line of code is a user interface ?(Software Engineering Tips)?.

Paul Graham once again masterfully shares his observations through The Trouble with the Segway.

It was too easy for them; they were too successful raising money. If they’d had to grow the company gradually, by iterating through several versions they sold to real users, they’d have learned pretty quickly that people looked stupid riding them…They had focus groups aplenty, I’m sure, but they didn’t have the people yelling insults out of cars. So they never realized they were zooming confidently down a blind alley.

Running a business, building a product, leading a team, or writing your magnum opus. The push-back and the ridicule is invaluable and shapes the results for the better.  Don’t try to hide from it, or buy your way out.  Prove them wrong.