Re:Nirvana Fallacy
by jameshart on Thursday May 25, 2023 @08:17PM
(#36078186)
Another related pattern: rock-paper-scissors comparisons.
Say we're looking to choose a library.
A - Let's use FooLib. It seems to be the most widely used.
B - Nah, FooLib's kind of outdated. We should use NeoFoo, it's more modern.
A - Well plain old libfoo is way faster.
B - But FooLib has a way friendlier API...
Because you're not deciding what you care about, instead of a straight bakeoff, each option is in multiple two-way fights where only its strengths or weaknesses over a particular other option are considered relevant. Option 1 beats option 2, beats option 3, beats option 1...
Prioritize your requirements. Try out sentences of these forms:
I would be okay with lower performance if the API is easier to use.
I would prefer a fast implementation of this even if it were unsupported.
If you're not comfortable with them, you have learned something about your true priorities.
Say we're looking to choose a library.
Because you're not deciding what you care about, instead of a straight bakeoff, each option is in multiple two-way fights where only its strengths or weaknesses over a particular other option are considered relevant. Option 1 beats option 2, beats option 3, beats option 1...Prioritize your requirements. Try out sentences of these forms:
If you're not comfortable with them, you have learned something about your true priorities.