The Problem of Design by Negation

this can be accomplished with a simple blend. use negation to understand what is possible, which is quite large and still open ended, and drive your optimism/enthusiasm into there.

don't be silly and abandon negation. negation is the heart of why the sciences works, it is perhaps one of the most elegant and useful tools of mathematics, and I could add some interesting things about negation, Nietzsche and ontology, but decided to cut that out of this comment...

The most reliable way to the truth (essence, ontology) is by knowing what it is not. The most reliable way to understand the behavior of phenomena is by eliminating possibilities (theories) through contradiction against evidence (the sciences).

i like the author's enthusiasm, and it is well suited for within possibility, but if you take the good cheer of this posting to encourage yourself to have less 'you can't do thats' and more 'what can we do?' - you'll get a lot more hype than reality. negation is the way to the truth. within the truth, there are many possibilities.

if anything, negation helps make your creative explorations be more successful and more likely to lead into other true possibilities.

This is so very true. I often hear developer friends rejecting every proposition that goes against their current plan with excuses such as 'I don't know how to do that', 'I don't think that's possible', etc. etc. While I appreciate the clarity of mind that this can provide and the fact that it can deliver from 'analysis paralysis' and seemingly infinite development routes, there has got to be an alternative...