Bitshift

Paul Graham wrote an interesting article two years ago, explaining why smart people sometimes have some really bad ideas. We've all been there: we, or someone we work with, comes up with something that seems both logical and exciting at the time. But as things play out, it turns out to have been a terrible idea.

I often have this trouble with projects or quick hacks I come up with: I'll get an idea, put it on the back burner and let it simmer for a while. When I revisit it a few days or weeks later, it still seems like a great idea, and I'll dive in. Sooner or later, it turns out not just to be a waste of effort and/or a dead end, but colossally idiotic, to boot. Now, at least I have more excuses for the next time it happens.