[groby_b]

If you take the story literally, yes. If you assume that the problem is slightly more complicated and the author simplified for the benefit of having a readable story, your little notes app does squat.

If the solution for a complicated problem comes to you this way, you have managed to see dozens of moving parts at just the right time, from just the right angle, in your mind. It is incredibly hard to hold on to that, and writing it out in notes takes several pages.

When that solution comes to you, you cling on to it for dear life until you can put it into a form that works - several pages of notes, a test proving your point, a large diagram. Whatever it is. None of those answers can be captured with a phone app.

[anoopelias]

I see this from a different perspective. I feel, the story is less about the feel that you might forget it if you don't cling to it. Rather, it is more about the intense need you have inside your mind to test your hypothesis and see to it that it is working.

[phantomb]

I'm skeptical that an insight can be both simple enough to spontaneously occur during a social outing AND complicated enough to require multiple pages of notes just to capture enough to remind you of the idea.

[groby_b]

It's rare. It happens.

The point is, words might not be the best way to capture your insight. You have _something_ in your mind, and it doesn't always translate into few words. To quote Blaise Pascal: "I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter."

[louthy]

Quite, only an aide memoire is needed, not War and Peace.

[npizzolato]

No, you don't need pages to describe your moment of clarity. In fact, the author did it in four short sentences.

>He wasn’t paying attention. He missed the elevator.

>I bet you that’s exactly what happens in my code. If the remote end hangs up while I’m waiting for my authentication tokens, my app won’t notice, error out, and leak the socket.

You should be able to capture that thought in a few words. That will let you get back in the moment when you need to while also allowing you to fully engage with the people talking to you at the party.

[groby_b]

As I said in my original post - if you take the story literally, yes. I'd be surprised if the real story wasn't quite a bit more complicated.