2008/08/16

Right Sort of Wrongness

It says a great deal about our work that we use the same word for a brilliant or a horribly cheesy solution. When we cook one up we're not always 100% sure which kind it is. But as long as it has the right sort of wrongness, that's a promising sign. It's odd that people think of programming as precise and methodical. Computers are precise and methodical. Hacking is something you do with a gleeful laugh. -- The Word "Hacker", Paul Gramham
絕頂聰明和糟糕透頂的方法,我們會用同一個字眼去形容它們,這是司空見慣的情況。當我們料理食物時,不可能保證結果完全如同預期,但只要能從錯誤結果看出對的端倪,那就是好徵兆。令人費解的是,人們會以為 programming 是一件精準、有條理的工作,事實上,computer 才是精準、有條理的,而 hacking 則是在歡笑中進行。

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