[pypy-dev] i just had the book FLOWS reccomeenmded to me

[Edward K. Ream]

> > Why ask why? It's their problem :-)
>
> I disagree: we, the uncreative, provide most of the indispensable support
> and follow-through for most creative people's "sparks".

Interesting reply.  I doubt that we are in great disagreement here.  My
question "why ask why" was meant to convey that we needn't get too concerned
about what other people do: there is little we can do about it anyway.
Another reason I'm not too concerned about the question is that I think most
people are creative in ways that may not be apparent to the casual observer.

Perhaps we have slightly different views of the "scale" of creativity.  In
my view, there is potential for creativity almost everywhere, including in
the "long, careful, systematic, painstaking, often-boring and always-tiring
work, implied by that 99% of perspiration."

In my own work, the "big aha" happened 9 years ago, and it took about 10
minutes of using a prototype (The MORE outliner) to see that a programming
style based on outlines would work.  That programming style has remained
almost unchanged ever since.  Was that the end of creativity?  I don't think
so!  There is lots of room for creativity in "dotting the i's".  In fact, I
think this is where almost all creativity is.  It's not particularly
glamorous, and it _is_ real creativity.

Again, I doubt we are in much disagreement.  Alex, surely your life must be
highly creative, even if most of it seems like "perspiration" :-)  I wasn't
trying to dismiss people who aren't creative; I was trying to dismiss
worrying about whether people are creative or not.

Edward
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Edward K. Ream   email:  edreamleo at charter.net
Leo: Literate Editor with Outlines
Leo: http://webpages.charter.net/edreamleo/front.html
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