3

The stages of new thing:

1. I don't see what this thing is supposed to do.
2. Ok, I see what it's supposed to do but I don't understand it.
3. I sort of understand it but learning it is too much work for very little benefit.
4. I am bored so I will learn new thing so I look busy.
5. I will rewrite my current project with new thing.
6. My current project is now bigger, slower and harder to understand.
7. I am now enthusiastic advocate of new thing and I feel more of a pro.
8. Need to code something in a hurry and revert to writing code like I copied it from w3schools.
9. Discover new thing is actually obsolete.
10. Remind myself that none of it is remotely relevant to my actual job and resume hunting for CSS bug.

Comments
  • 3
    Poor soul, PHP dev. I send prayers.
  • 1
    I usually only realize the value of "new thing" when I'm in a rush, try to work without it, and realize just how much slower and more error prone everything is.

    It's true that "new thing" to me usually introduces static analysis, immutability or other forms of local reasoning to a field I previously thought to be inherently chaotic and unsafe.
  • 3
    Break the cycle: Don't get bored.
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