How we see ourselves and how we see others (2008) [pdf] | Hacker News Reader

How we see ourselves and how we see others (2008) [pdf]

courses.washington.edu

89 pointsyamrzou7 comments

Relevant to the HN crowd and a helpful explainer of at least one psychological reason why projects are often underestimated:

"In one series of studies, people predicted how quickly they (or others) would complete various work projects and whether they would meet their deadlines. They were overoptimistic about themselves (but not others) because they focused on their industrious motives and intentions rather than their past behavior or the behavior of others in similar situations (6)."

I heard somewhere that when a task becomes too big for people to truly estimate the actual time-taken, they unconsciously substitute their confidence that it can be done.

I know that, historically, I personally _always_ forget to take interruptions and the time spent context switching for such interruptions, which can dwarf even well estimated efforts.

What is wrong with me? I always think the other way around. I *know* that I’ll get into some rabbit holes along the way and stuff like that.

With apologies to Bernard Woolley*:

    I take into account my internal desires and intentions
    You have positive illusions
    He is biased

* a character from "Yes, Minister": That’s one of those irregular verbs, isn’t it? I give confidential security briefings. You leak. He has been charged under section 2a of the Official Secrets Act.

There is a relevant Wikipedia page. The format used by the "Yes, Minister" joke originated with Bertrand Russell.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotive_conjugation

Sounds more like orwell:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_and_the_English_Lan...

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