I remember one pivotal moment in college being when I was given an assignment, and I asked if some of the restrictions on the task could be removed. The teacher told me what I really did was just ask for the hard version of the problem.
I asked her what she meant, and instead of telling me, she just laughed and said go ahead, remove the restrictions and see for myself.
She was right! Without the restrictions there were so many more possibilities I had to work much harder to complete the assignment. It was still fun though and I learned more than just the assignment from that lesson.
cowlevel 50 minutes ago [-]
This is a very frequent experience for me when I think about writing any computer program. Passed all my algorithms and data structures with flying colours. Did some projects that were easy to start back when I knew fewer languages. Did some projects that had to be done in certain platforms for compatibility with existing software. Now new projects are hard to start. Maybe I should learn to use AI to transliterate programs and it wouldn't feel like it mattered as much?
And now I'm in the real world where you can do almost anything. It's not just software platforms that are the problem. Should I apply for jobs? Definitely. Which jobs? And what about the other paths? Should I also write some SaaS and hope I get acquihired? Which one? In which platform? Should I learn how government contracts work? Probably can't get one as an individual, but should I learn about them anyway? Should I pay the fees to found a company, even though it's just me and doesn't have a business plan, to look more legitimate to potential customers for the thing I don't even know yet?
agentn7o2nh 49 minutes ago [-]
[flagged]
lopsotronic 39 minutes ago [-]
"Art from Adversity" is the idiom that comes to mind. You can poke around and watch the principle in action, particularly in the art of cinema.
Many lesser directors often end up with "lightning in a bottle" -- aka a film that far exceeds their normal ability -- because the common stress of the experience on direction, on production, on the talent made for a synthesis better than sum of its parts.
It doesn't always work that way, but when it does it's very striking.
chneu 4 hours ago [-]
This is why I like sports, or more specifically "walled" games.
The "walls" are the rules and the task is to figure out how to succeed within those rules. Succeed is up to perspective in many instances.
This encourages creativity. It's why I love baseball, cuz the rules are constantly evolving as people game them. It's so joyful seeing people exploit the rules they agreed to play by.
Limits force us to think INSIDE the box. It's a lot of fun.
Communal boredom is also very important. Being bored with friends is an amazing launching pad for new ideas and thinking.
> Are there any games that are not “walled” games?
Some games approximate infinite play: Minecraft, Roblox, EVE Online, Second Life, Gary's Mode.
However, even they have technological, economic, and rule-based boundaries.
gverrilla 1 hours ago [-]
Those are simulations, not games, I would say. Even though they host games inside them.
motohagiography 2 hours ago [-]
i often observe, "the constraint is the technique."
there isn't much to add to it other than the slight refinement that constraints yield technique. it's similar to relating to rules as tools and not merely limits or constraints. it's an orientation.
Obscurity4340 2 hours ago [-]
The Obstacle is the Tool
1 hours ago [-]
Rendered at 03:24:38 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
I asked her what she meant, and instead of telling me, she just laughed and said go ahead, remove the restrictions and see for myself.
She was right! Without the restrictions there were so many more possibilities I had to work much harder to complete the assignment. It was still fun though and I learned more than just the assignment from that lesson.
And now I'm in the real world where you can do almost anything. It's not just software platforms that are the problem. Should I apply for jobs? Definitely. Which jobs? And what about the other paths? Should I also write some SaaS and hope I get acquihired? Which one? In which platform? Should I learn how government contracts work? Probably can't get one as an individual, but should I learn about them anyway? Should I pay the fees to found a company, even though it's just me and doesn't have a business plan, to look more legitimate to potential customers for the thing I don't even know yet?
Many lesser directors often end up with "lightning in a bottle" -- aka a film that far exceeds their normal ability -- because the common stress of the experience on direction, on production, on the talent made for a synthesis better than sum of its parts.
It doesn't always work that way, but when it does it's very striking.
The "walls" are the rules and the task is to figure out how to succeed within those rules. Succeed is up to perspective in many instances.
This encourages creativity. It's why I love baseball, cuz the rules are constantly evolving as people game them. It's so joyful seeing people exploit the rules they agreed to play by.
Limits force us to think INSIDE the box. It's a lot of fun.
Communal boredom is also very important. Being bored with friends is an amazing launching pad for new ideas and thinking.
Some games approximate infinite play: Minecraft, Roblox, EVE Online, Second Life, Gary's Mode.
However, even they have technological, economic, and rule-based boundaries.
there isn't much to add to it other than the slight refinement that constraints yield technique. it's similar to relating to rules as tools and not merely limits or constraints. it's an orientation.