Comments

I feel like I can relate to the fellow with the removed tumor: ever since I got seriously into programming, my L-mode has gotten a bit out of control. For example, coming down to a choice about triangle-based vs plane-based collision for cubes took days of deliberation just to get it down to those two choices. Plenty of folks had to yell in my face just to "make a decision already!"



I feel like it's hard because not only do I not have a lot of experience, but I'm typically left without enough concrete information. And when you're the type of person who typically double-checks and second-guesses himself a lot, actual work slows to a crawl. Having a bad memory doesn't exactly help either (especially when you're trying to recall paradigms), so sometimes I just have to guess. And making an educated guess when you have little creative energy is barely a guess at all.



When those guesses go awry, you start to doubt yourself a lot (hence more double-checks and asking other people questions). R-mode sometimes feels like a crapshoot!



Anyway, I think I need to take a hint from you and not think *too hard* about it. I imagine that takes practice, though.



Posted by Steve on May 12, 2010 at 03:09 PM UTC - 5 hrs



IMO this <a href="



Posted by I think programmers are faced with the these dilemmas every day. And it spans various orders of magnitude from architectural decisions, language decisions to things as detailed as should I use a recursive solution or an iterative one and whether a variable should be an integer or long or a double.IMO this http://technikhil.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/jugglin... ">mental juggling is a part of programming and what makes programming so challenging and when you get it right - so rewarding.Posted by Technikhil on May 12, 2010 at 10:23 PM UTC - 5 hrs

@sammy, i think this can cover a lot more areas in life than just programming. i believe i handle things differently in programming (or even business in my case), than i do in everyday life (specifically with spending my own money). since your post is directed more at programming, i would add the caveats of confidence and goal.



i would suggest that someone who is confident in their abilities and decisions will not have any issue regardless of how many decisions/flavors are placed in front of them. i would agree that at some point, there will be some dissemination, in order to determine if their chosen path is better than this new path presented. in the end, i believe their confidence will lead to the direction chosen, and quickly. i would chalk this up to leadership. some are leaders in some areas, others in other areas, while some are not leaders at all. if you are a leader in that area, generally speaking decisions will come easy.



another caveat is goal. if the goal is to get it done, then you are going to choose the path of least resistance and most comfortable, but if the goal is to make a process faster, then a different path may be chosen. if lines of code, or cost are the goal, then other choices may be made. many times the goal will dictate decisions.



one other thought... policy... many times policy removes the decisions as well.



Posted by shag on May 13, 2010 at 05:34 PM UTC - 5 hrs

My best defense against "analysis paralysis" was taught in a class on Engineering Decision Making long ago. The class taught many estimation and preference-expression techniques, but the best lesson it taught the batch of young academics in the room was that outside the world of a textbook, information is NOT free. With so many books and blogs and discussion boards to do cheap research that cost may seem low at first but if we consider the time needed, the cost is clearer.



Cost awareness has a way of sharpening focus, with oneself or when dealing with clients/colleagues/bosses.



Posted by Chris on May 13, 2010 at 05:54 PM UTC - 5 hrs





Posted by Alas, the Baba Shiv experiment holds unsettling implications for anyone looking for a society based upon reason. It suggests reason can occur, but it cannot prevail. As a WSJ reporter commented, the surprising thing is not that emotion sometimes wins over reason, it's how easily it wins.Posted by tom sheepandgoats on Nov 20, 2010 at 08:01 AM UTC - 5 hrs