Premature Optimization

I’ve spent a large chunk of the weekend building a wiki prototype (first attempts are here).

I’ve been thinking a lot of about the purpose of this, the artifacts of thoughts and thinking and wondering whether this is an example of premature optimization.

When I was studying for my A-Levels, I spent a long time designing my study timetable. I’d plan meticulously how I would spend each valuable studying hour, how I what study, what I’d focus on and all the rest. I’d spend so much time doing this that I’d miss opportunities to study - especially as plans needed revising and rethinking.

Building this wiki is an interesting exercise in design and thinking. I’m enjoying the process a lot. I also realise that I don’t currently have a lot of thoughts to organise into a wiki. Also, is organising ideas in this way worse than the networked thinking I’m doing with a tool like Roam.

I think the reality is that the wiki is the place that expresses those parts of my thinking that are beginning to calcify and may be useful to others.

So, I’ll keep going on the wiki journey but keep asking the questions about whether it is relevant. I’m hoping this isn’t premature optimization (or as Kent might say a hasty abstraction but also this is something that has helpfully held my attention and, in these times, that seems worthwile.

I’m wondering whether my Gatsby exploration is useful for sharing. Let me know if you’d find it useful and I’ll get it on npm if so.