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by preommr 2064 days ago
> It didn't take very long to do the analysis. But it did then take another hour or so to write it up.

It's very interesting to see how long it takes people to do things. I am amazed that entire article took 1 hour to type up. I've spent entire afternoons trying to write shallower pieces of work.

2 comments

I think a lot of people (myself included when I've felt the pressure to) lowball how long things like this take because a) it makes me look smart and b) people could judge of they knew who much time I actually wasted on it.
I think you read the parent in the opposite direction than intended. It was praise for getting this done so quickly, by my read.

Granted, i could just be misreading this post. :)

I read it as an encouragement for parent to not take the "hour" mentioned by TFA at face value, so they shouldn't be too hard on themselves.
Ah, a much better reading than mine!
It looks like it was written as a single stream of conscience. While I couldn’t write that article, if I hit a flow state and was interested in the topic, it seems possible.
The trick is to think before you write. The same goes for programming. If you already know what you are going to write or build then you can reach very high apparent productivity, the time spent on thinking about it isn't accounted for.