Zen and the Art of Bugfixing

David Sifri spends some time fixing a technorati bug, and has some [intersting

observations]2 on the process.

“But sometimes you’re stuck.  You can’t figure out why something is going wrong.  Your usual swami-like powers are just not clicking when it comes to this problem.  So you get frustrated.  This is a very dangerous time – Pirsig calls this a gumption trap opportunity.  Because you’re stuck, you search for answers, and are willing to take blind chances in order to fix the problem expeditiously.  That’s usually right about when all hell breaks loose, and you really start to fuck things up.”

That sounds about right.