Right, which is exactly why "The first symptom of stagnation is preference." is ... | Hacker News

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npsimons on Feb 10, 2015 | parent | context | favorite | on: Programmer proverbs

Right, which is exactly why "The first symptom of stagnation is preference." is dumb. How do you tell the difference between "stagnation" and knowing the best tool for the job? What's that you say? It takes time and thinking beyond a pithy saying? Then why bother with the pithy saying?

AnimalMuppet on Feb 10, 2015 | [–]

Knowing the best tool for the job means that you pick different tools for different jobs. Having a (strong) preference means you pick the same tool if at all possible.

V-2 on Feb 10, 2015 | [–]

Well, the way I see it, the adage is right to recommend being suspicious of, and questioning fixated preferences. This attitude is healthy.

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