One Man Armies

https://quarter--mile.com/One-Man-Armies

19•joshdavham•8mo ago

Comments

polotics•8mo ago

Very short article, just a list, one now always wonder how much content is slop.

sandspar•8mo ago

The lesson of our current era is trust nothing and no one, basically.

ahofmann•8mo ago

This is the state of the Internet since at least 15 years.

number6•8mo ago

Sometimes it's not the article in itself but the discussion it creates, or the thoughts

joshdavham•8mo ago

Do you consider this article to be slop?

polotics•8mo ago

probability 10% slop would have diluted the same content to 3x the length

sandspar•8mo ago

Generally, one man armies are actually two person armies: the genius and their spouse. As a typical case, Einstein relied heavily on his wife. He needed vast amounts of time for uninterrupted thought. Guess who took care of everything else while he was in his study? Running a household is a part-time job for two people or a full-time job for one. If the genius needs to devote his or her full attention to their work, that leaves a full time job at home for someone else to do.

joshdavham•8mo ago

This was also the case with Eric Barone when he was creating Stardew Valley.

Reubend•8mo ago

That's a nice point, but there's not much unique talent required for running a household. He probably could have hired some maids to cook, clean, take care of errands, etc...

The tricky bit is when kids get involved.

wiseowise•8mo ago

> That's a nice point, but there's not much unique talent required for running a household. He probably could have hired some maids to cook, clean, take care of errands, etc...

Right, and prostitutes to suck his shlong.

ahofmann•8mo ago

Impressive list, with a strange ending. I'm still blocked by Rebecca, because the project is setup in a way that multiple people are dependent from each other.

blamestross•8mo ago

Now if only i could afford to spend a few years working on something like this. Sadly there is a mortgage to pay and investment banks who want returns this quarter, not in 3 years.

hock_ads_ad_hoc•8mo ago

The ending was a bit bizarre. I don’t think anyone should want to be a one man army in a corporate setting. You will never be rewarded commensurate to the work in that setting.

f1shy•8mo ago

It is just unwanted to be that in a medium to big company.

For a long time I thought the more productive you are, the better. And it is so, until a certain point.

It is inconvenient for a big company to have “that one man” that can do “everything”. Because then when he/she is unavailable, chaos ensues, in a hurry. It can be because of disease, death, or another job. Doesn’t matter. Is a liability. Big companies want “commodity” people, that cost less, and can be easily replaced. Say RAID for HR.

nertirs1•8mo ago

I am not a fan of mythologizing people. Most of the listed achievements are just as much the result of the circumstance and should have an asterisk. For example - Einstein was the first to introduce the theory of relativity, but his works stands on the work of others, also if he had failed others would have almost certainly come to the same conclusion. Chris Sawyer at the start of making RollerCoaster Tycoon already had 12 years of game development experience, during a time when being a solo programmer was the norm. Eric Barone was lucky enough to have a girlfriend, who worked 2 jobs to support them both.

karmakurtisaani•8mo ago

I think you're trivializing their achievements, and they deserve to be applauded for their productivity if not for the exceptional outcomes (some of which would have probably been done by others sooner or later).

By the way, RCT was coded entirely in assembly. As if making a game worth of millions is not impressive enough.

nertirs1•8mo ago

Are you trying to imply, that every physicist working in the academic field, who is not lucky enough to stumble on the correct theory is less productive than Einstein? I thought it was common knowledge, that at least 99% of all research is failing.

RCT was coded in assembly, because Chris Sawyer had 12 years of professional experience in assembly. It seems impressive from today's perspective, because today an average developer never really touches assembly outside the single university course. One could even argue, that a more productive programmer would have already switched to C by 1995.

My goal is not to trivialize their achievements. I think if people payed more attention to these stories, then they would have a more healthy outlook on the world. Also they would understand, that working hard in your basement is only a part of the recipe.

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