I have an old, sentimental newspaper-article-cut claiming “pessimistic hi-tech employees are more productive than their optimistic peers” hanging on my office wall.
In this context, last summer I wrote, coined and trademarked the Pessimistic Developer Paradigm.
Early this week I have interviewed a very interesting dude* who saw this old article hanging on my office and introduced this amazing poem by Robert Graves which I must share in this pessimistic context…
In Broken Images (by Robert Graves)
He is quick, thinking in clear images;
I am slow, thinking in broken images.
He becomes dull, trusting to his clear images;
I become sharp, mistrusting my broken images.
Trusting his images, he assumes their relevance;
Mistrusting my images, I question their relevance.
Assuming their relevance, he assumes the fact;
Questioning their relevance, I question their fact.
When the fact fails him, he questions his senses;
when the fact fails me, I approve my senses.
He continues quick and dull in his clear images;
I continue slow and sharp in my broken images.
He in a new confusion of his understanding;
I in a new understanding of my confusion.
* Thanks Tomer and Good Luck!
2 responses so far ↓
1 Tzvika // Mar 21, 2008 at 10:33 am
Graves was obviously a much better writer of historical fiction than he was a poet.
Shabat Shalom!
2 Moti Karmona // Mar 21, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Dear Barenholz,
You might be right but I am pretty sure you are wrong… ;-)
He was a better writer of historical fiction than he was a poet but he also was a better poet than many others …
Purim Sameach!
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