Friday, August 14, 2009

Changing the world...a baby step at a time

I just finished reading this excellent interview with Bjarne Stroutrup. The guy just blows my mind with how much he understands and takes in, and it just made me start thinking about some thing. He uses an amazing analogy in the interview where he points out that the amount of energy required to move a boulder across a town is far greater than to move a pebble across that town, but in the end everyone cares where the boulder is and only if the pebble ends up in someone's shoe does he whine about it.
It made me realize that for the majority of my life I have viewed "genius" and "skill" as getting something done quickly or in some clever manner, but in reality, true genius is in the slow and steady work that moves that boulder. Even in life, very little of any consequence is done in a minute, an hour, or even a day, but the things that truly matter can take a lifetime. It was just an interesting thought that helped me remember that the old adage, "slow and steady wins the race," probably has more truth than even an initial inspection lets on.
...or maybe I'm just getting old.