John Siracusa and Merlin Mann try to figure out exactly how they got this way.

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#183: The Pinching Opportunities

May 27th, 2022 · 111 minutes

In a conversation both sprawling and comically on-brand, your hosts explore the concept of doing things "properly."

This episode of Reconcilable Differences is sponsored by:

  • Sourcegraph: Universal Code Search. Move fast, even in big codebases. Try it now.
  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code DIFFS at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
  • Doppler: Sync environment variables at scale.

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Download: MP3 (102.38 MB)

Links and Show Notes

Things kick off with a dive on the hacker mindset, black swans, corner cases, and the exception that proves the rule. Whatever that means.

This leads to a side trip into security, troubleshooting, and the difference between non-linear thinking and untethered madness.

What does it mean to do something properly, when should it matter, and what are the risks and benefits of demanding that certain things always be done a certain way?

(Recorded on Tuesday, May 17, 2022)

Credits

The Hacker Mindset
Operation Mincemeat - Wikipedia

Operation Mincemeat was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily.

Operation Mincemeat (2021)
Operation Mincemeat (2010)
Postel's Law
Ian's Shoelace Site
John Chidgey's Causality podcast
Operation Fortitude - Wikipedia

Operation Fortitude was the code name for a World War II military deception employed by the Allied nations as part of an overall deception strategy (code named Bodyguard) during the build-up to the 1944 Normandy landings.

Method Acting / Quotes - TV Tropes
Black Swan Definition

A black swan is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences.

Black swan events are characterized by their extreme rarity, severe impact, and the widespread insistence they were obvious in hindsight.

Urban Dictionary: Peter Brady Party

A party or event that no one shows up for (or is poorly attended). Based on episode 21 of the Brady Bunch where Peter throws a party for himself and no one shows up.

✂️ Fonzie's Lonely Christmas - YouTube
I'll Let Myself In: Tactics of Physical Pen Testers - YouTube