

Designed as Designer - swannodette
http://dreamsongs.org/DesignedAsDesigner.html

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ahoyhere
Nicely written, but full of flaws.

It doesn't actually challenge Fred Brooks' point, which is that consistency
comes from the overarching control/vision of one person or very small,
"resonating" teams.

The author of the essay uses the example of Ezra Pound mentoring and editing
T.S. Elliot's work, resulting in something better, to argue against Fred
Brooks' assertions.

But... Elliot the writer + Pound the editor is a very small, "resonating"
team, don't you think?

Fred Brooks, in the quotes cited, _doesn't_ state that these people work
entirely alone, don't take any input from outside, do not use editors, do not
owe anything to cultural legacy, etc.

Lots of historical citations and beautiful quotes does not a well-rounded
rebuttal make.

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swannodette
I think Richard addresses the importance of the roles of the individual
people. His novel point is as the title suggests, that the role of _the thing
designed_ is far too often overlooked. Consider the terms Lisp-y or Pythonic.
It is a strange quality which seems to lie outside ourselves, yet we somehow
comprehend it. It may not even be real, but I think the essay highlights the
powerful yet (often) unnoticed affect it has on human creativity.

