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Comment by thomascountz

2 months ago

I'm inspired by this and want to extend it, perhaps telescopically, by discussing what the thing is.

Sometimes we see our task as being, "do C," and we forget the "B" and "A" that come before.

Maybe you can't do "C" without discussing it ("B") or researching how others did it ("A"). In these cases, we shouldn't simply think the thing is "C"—the thing must first be "A," then "B," and then, "C."

If we forget this, we're bound to think "C" is the only thing of value, that it should take an hour and not a week, or that people doing the "A's" or "B's" to enable the "Cs" must be doing nothing at all!

9 comments

thomascountz

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HexPhantom  2 months ago

It's easy to underestimate that groundwork because it's less flashy or quantifiable. But skipping it usually just means C turns out half-baked, or takes even longer in the end

  • silversmith  2 months ago

    Groundwork most often is the work.

    Just yesterday I was helping a family member install roofing. The roof was done up to slats, the roofing was big metal sheets, should be done in an hour. Except we spent good five hours on various little details before the first sheet was going up. And you cant exactly not do those, at least if you want the roof to stay there, and the weather to stay outside.

acestus5  2 months ago

You pay a doctor for a consultation. saying you paid the doctor for medical school and for the legacy of doctors that came before him is.... wrong.

  • valiant55  2 months ago

    It's not wrong, that's exactly what I'm paying them for. If they didn't have the education then they wouldn't be a doctor, and I wouldn't be seeing them for a consultation.

    I'm well compensated not because I'm good at googling things, but because I have a proven track record of being good at googling things. If a junior was able to produce the same results they wouldnt be paid more.

  • idiotsecant  2 months ago

    If paying for medical school is not what youre doing why not just do your doctors appointment at Burger King?

  • thomascountz  2 months ago

    If you pay a doctor, the thing you're doing is paying a doctor. Your "A" or "B" might be booking the appointment or figuring out how to send the payment. I'm not sure I follow.