# How have you achieved greatness according to this fake Bill Gates quote? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 22, 2021, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-have-you-achieved-greatness-according-to-this-fake-bill-gates-quote/938454 "2021-03-22T20:35:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-have-you-achieved-greatness-according-to-this-fake-bill-gates-quote/938454/41 "2021-04-18T15:04:29Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > A certain specific type of laziness - the “I’m tired of doing this every time, so I’m going to buckle down and take three times as long to _never do it again_” type, can serve people very well in a number of fields, particularly computer programming. But that’s probably the rarest form of laziness. A lot more common are these forms: “I’ll keep doing this the dumb way because it’s too much work to think up a better way.” “I’ll just do a half-assed job. It’ll be easier.” “I’ll do it tomorrow.” “Let somebody else handle it.” “I’ll just ignore this problem.” Most Microsoft products seem to have been developed using these principles. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-have-you-achieved-greatness-according-to-this-fake-bill-gates-quote/938454/42 "2021-04-18T15:18:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But that’s probably the rarest form of laziness. Putting aside that smart people are the rarest form of people in general… > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “I’ll just do a half-assed job. It’ll be easier.” Sometimes a half-assed job really is good enough - and if it is then it’s a waste of time to go to the extra time and effort to make it perfect. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Sometimes putting it off until tomorrow will mean it doesn’t have to be done so often. (I wait until I’m completely out of shirts before laundering them, and even wait until it’s evening and I’ve changed into my pajamas so I can wash _all_ of them, getting one extra day.) > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “Let somebody else handle it.” As long as they _do_ handle it, what’s the problem? It’s called “delegation”. Heck, I’ve made a habit of “You’re really familiar with this system, I’m not, so how about I be lazy and not spend days struggling to do this thing you could do in an hour? Kay thanks bye!” > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “I’ll just ignore this problem.” Well, what happens if the problem _is_ ignored? No, seriously, what happens? What are the consequences? Maybe they’re not so bad. There’s an industry term called “minimum viable product”. It’s short for, “We have a deadline! We can’t possibly do _everything_ you imagined up! Please have mercy!” ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-have-you-achieved-greatness-according-to-this-fake-bill-gates-quote/938454/43 "2021-04-18T15:59:20Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > I also have different hampers for each type of laundry so I never have to bother to sort them. I don’t even sort laundry unless there’s something exceptional, like a new pair of dark jeans or a load of rags that needs bleach. Haven’t had a problem in decades. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-have-you-achieved-greatness-according-to-this-fake-bill-gates-quote/938454/44 "2021-04-21T12:15:31Z")
Same here. I don’t sort laundry unless there is something special. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-have-you-achieved-greatness-according-to-this-fake-bill-gates-quote/938454/45 "2021-04-21T13:18:18Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > The rather unsung at-least-equal partner in the Gilbreth enterprise was his wife Lillian, who took over the business when he suddenly died. > > I did read Cheaper By the Dozen in the fifth grade (and again as an adult), it is still pretty darn funny. There’s a sequel about the ongoing adventures of the family, IIRC from Gilbreth Sr’s death (where the first book ends) to the youngest child graduating from college. It’s called _[Belles on Their Toes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belles_on_Their_Toes)_. Lillian features large in that one. It was also made into a film in 1952. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-have-you-achieved-greatness-according-to-this-fake-bill-gates-quote/938454/46 "2021-04-21T13:36:01Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > A certain specific type of laziness - the “I’m tired of doing this every time, so I’m going to buckle down and take three times as long to _never do it again_ ” type, can serve people very well in a number of fields, particularly computer programming. Not surprising that there is [an xkcd comic](https://xkcd.com/1319/) about this. It compares the theory to the reality. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-have-you-achieved-greatness-according-to-this-fake-bill-gates-quote/938454/47 "2021-04-21T14:14:03Z")
I thought of that too, but never got around to actually do it. Some day I may… When I take a shower, I clean my feet by rubbing them against each other immediatly after rinsing the shampoo from my hair so I don’t have to bend down. I thought that was natural and everybody did it this way until my wife remarked she did not. I am a great fan of labour division: I do the things I like, which I usually do well (the one reinforces the other in my experience) and delegate the rest. Sometimes it costs money, somethimes just a smile and a thank you! And sometimes you are left with a pile of junk because some people are incredibly dumb, incompetent _and_ lazy in the wrong way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-have-you-achieved-greatness-according-to-this-fake-bill-gates-quote/938454.md?page=2)