Creation/Evolution

On the Xanadu post http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=795155 I made the comment, which would fit as well here:

Anything actually working was released when only half-baked; perfectionists either never release anything or they release it so late that it never gains any traction against its already-in-use competitors. The first release of anything that is going to succeed is effectively going to be a prototype, whether the inventors intended it to be or not.

Think of it as evolution in action.

John Walker is always a good read, and I had missed that essay before. It seems to be the same message that some of the writings around Ycombinator are saying that you let the customers tell you what they want, and it may not be what you first think. So perhaps we think of this approach as making the point of first feedback as early as possible. So far as I can recall, there was no market research for the Apple II.

My favorite reference from the article is "...I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Interesting just to learn about Lamarckian evolution (which is mentioned in passing).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamarckian

"John Walker -- November 5, 1993"

Yes, this is almost 16 years old. It gratified my intellectual curiosity, and I hope it suits yours.