The question is if dremeling is actually worse than sitting around doing nothing? If there is programming that you could be getting on with, or something like that, then go and do that, be back in a week. But if making those slots is part of the critical path, and the speed-up is more important than any loss of quality, go ahead and dremel.
So in the specific original instance, I think there were actually better things we could have been doing. But Edison’s favorite aphorism applies: That would have required thinking.
Possibly there is some more detailed analogy to be made about confronting uncertainty and tending to under-explore and over-exploit.
Almost no human actions are anywhere near optimal towards optimising long term real world goals. Optimal seeking of long term real world goals looks like a superintelligence seeking the minimum time path to nanotechnology.
There are always better things you could be doing, the question is if you will think of a better thing to do given a little more thinking?
The question is if dremeling is actually worse than sitting around doing nothing? If there is programming that you could be getting on with, or something like that, then go and do that, be back in a week. But if making those slots is part of the critical path, and the speed-up is more important than any loss of quality, go ahead and dremel.
So in the specific original instance, I think there were actually better things we could have been doing. But Edison’s favorite aphorism applies: That would have required thinking.
Possibly there is some more detailed analogy to be made about confronting uncertainty and tending to under-explore and over-exploit.
Almost no human actions are anywhere near optimal towards optimising long term real world goals. Optimal seeking of long term real world goals looks like a superintelligence seeking the minimum time path to nanotechnology.
There are always better things you could be doing, the question is if you will think of a better thing to do given a little more thinking?
-