Letters to the Editor
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Published Letters: 41 Editor's Choice: 10
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It's not hard, but why not make it easy?
[Read the article: Empty thine in-box]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]LionelHutz asks, "Is it really hard to remember what you've read or responded to? I average 50-100 emails a day on three accounts and I delete only that which is irrelevant and which I know I'll have no use for."
Nope. It's not particularly hard. It's also not particularly hard to just leave all your dishes dirty and wash the ones you need to make dinner tonight. But in the same way it's easier to work clean in the kitchen than to work around the mess, it's easier to work clean with email.
Rather than trying to remember which dozen emails in my inbox still require action, I just keep those in their own folder. The ones I'm done with, another folder. If it's in the inbox, it's truly just in.
Of course, if you're happy with your current system, don't change it. But I like keeping my brain free for more interesting things. And having made it more obvious which emails need immediate action, I think I'm better at getting to them promptly.
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Fear of falling
[Read the article: The K Chronicles]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"What is vertigo? Fear of falling? Then why do we feel it even when the observation tower comes equipped with a sturdy handrail? No, vertigo is something other than the fear of falling. It is the voice of the emptiness below us which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves."
Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
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The 90-90 rule
[Read the article: Ask the Pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My dad started writing software in the 60s, and I've been doing it since the 80s. One of our profession's most cynical rules is also one of its most accurate: the 90-90 rule.
The notion is that the first 90% of the work takes 90% of the time. Then comes the other 90% of the work, which -- if you're lucky -- takes another 90% of the time. Why? I think it's because everybody involved drastically underestimates what a software project will take. So many things come naturally to us that we just can't imagine how hard it is to teach a computer to do them.
Making self-flying airplanes is a giant project, so I'm sure that naive expectations are off by a lot more than the typical 2x. People have been trying to make a household robot since the 50s, always saying robot servants are just around the corner. The best we've come up with is the Roomba. Which is neat, no question, but it's only an adequate vacuum. Even one smart enough not to eat your phone cords is years away.
So yes, I agree completely with Patrick's belief that they are decades away. Perhaps we can get something going at http://longbets.org/ to get it on the record?
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Who's responsible?
[Read the article: Bush's New Deal on housing]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]With mortgages, I'm ok with the conservative theory that people should be treated like responsible adults and left to make whatever deal they think best. And I'm ok with the liberal theory that many are easy prey for greedy scam artists, and so people need to be protected through regulation, mandatory counseling, and the like.
But I'll be furious if the Bush administration bails people out, as the only theory that applies there is that nobody is responsible. Excluding of course, the taxpayers, who are expected to foot the bill.
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Rules do not rule out thinking
[Read the article: Ellen, the dog bullies and me]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm dumbfounded at the number of people creating a false dilemma here. Either you have firm policies that you follow like a robot, or rancid, toothless hillbillies will capture all your dogs and sell them as jerky. Is there really no room for a little thought about the dog's welfare?
Yes, Ellen violated the letter of the contract. However, she kept to the spirit of it in finding what she thought was a good home for the dog. Taking the dog away without investigating the home and making an actual judgment call benefited nobody and nothing. It was certainly traumatic for the dog, and you can bet that family will not be getting their dog from a private shelter.
We make rules to make decision-making easier. It means we don't have to think a decision through from first principles every time. Rigid adherence to rules for their own sake, even when you violate the principles that motivate them is small-minded idiocy.
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Anxiety?
[Read the article: I peed at my desk in third grade and now I'm afraid to sing]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hi! From that letter, you could be my sister. This part especially rang bells for me:
I also want to be able to allow myself to guiltlessly do these crazy things I want to do.
One thing to look into is Generalized Anxiety Disorder:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalized_anxiety_disorder
I had never heard of it until I went to talk to a therapist about social anxiety, which was getting in my way. She rightly pointed out that for me it wasn't just stage fright. Sure, I was too shy and prone to freeze up when the center of attention. But in retrospect, I can easily see that I took negative things too seriously, positive things too lightly, and was never as brave as I wanted.
Between medication (Buspar) and a few years hard work, I can now get away with all sorts of things that I would have admired in others, but never was brave enough to do myself.
But the benefits started in a few weeks. Visiting a friend for the first time in her new place, I couldn't remember which of three apartments was hers. Before, I would not have rung any doorbell for fear of getting it wrong. But still remember how exhilarating it was to know that I could get it wrong and not die of shame or fear. It was glorious.
If this interests you, I'd start with either a good therapist or this book:
http://www.drhallowell.com/store/worry.html
And regardless, good luck!