The article doesn't say that good tools don't help - the article says that you will not become a good "insert anything here" if all you have are great tools and no innate ability or vision. In other words - if I am not a good runner, then having expensive orthopedic sneakers while I am running will not do me much good. If I am a good runner, then having those sneakers will make me better.
you will not become a good "insert anything here" if all you have are great tools and no innate ability or vision.
Yeah.
I know.
But that's pretty well-understood. I don't think anyone ever thought that. No one really thinks, "Good tools==success". And so we are again faced with the typical 37signals blog entry, the shtick of which is to state humdrum truisms to a galley of fawning fanboys, who litter the comment section with love unlimited. But, as usual, they somehow still manage to deviate from more strongly stated opinions,
What do hackers want? Like all craftsmen, hackers like good tools. In fact, that's an understatement. Good hackers find it unbearable to use bad tools. They'll simply refuse to work on projects with the wrong infrastructure.
True, yes? All craftsmen demand the best tools, and there's no harm in having them, or refining them, or arguing over their merits.
Comments
The article doesn't say that good tools don't help - the article says that you will not become a good "insert anything here" if all you have are great tools and no innate ability or vision. In other words - if I am not a good runner, then having expensive orthopedic sneakers while I am running will not do me much good. If I am a good runner, then having those sneakers will make me better.
you will not become a good "insert anything here" if all you have are great tools and no innate ability or vision.
Yeah.
I know.
But that's pretty well-understood. I don't think anyone ever thought that. No one really thinks, "Good tools==success". And so we are again faced with the typical 37signals blog entry, the shtick of which is to state humdrum truisms to a galley of fawning fanboys, who litter the comment section with love unlimited. But, as usual, they somehow still manage to deviate from more strongly stated opinions,
What do hackers want? Like all craftsmen, hackers like good tools. In fact, that's an understatement. Good hackers find it unbearable to use bad tools. They'll simply refuse to work on projects with the wrong infrastructure.
True, yes? All craftsmen demand the best tools, and there's no harm in having them, or refining them, or arguing over their merits.