Hofstadter's Law An Idea by Douglas Hofstadter en.wikipedia.org It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law. On the "Building" of Software and WebsitesDeadlines are bullshitParkinson's Law recursionself-referenceplanningtime
Up and Down the Ladder of Abstraction An Essay by Bret Victor worrydream.com The most powerful way to gain insight into a system is by moving between levels of abstraction. Many designers do this instinctively. But it's easy to get stuck on the ground, experiencing concrete systems with no higher-level view. It's also easy to get stuck in the clouds, working entirely with abstract equations or aggregate statistics. This interactive essay presents the ladder of abstraction, a technique for thinking explicitly about these levels, so a designer can move among them consciously and confidently. From a roving viewpoint abstractionunderstandinginteraction