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On Tue, 12 Oct 2004 21:57:04 +0100 Alex Charrett <alex@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Tue, 2004-10-12 at 20:39, Neil Williams wrote:The distinction here is that your logic assumes that only one task can be done at a time. I don't have an off-switch for all this code - it just keeps on popping up. If I was in the bath or at work - anywhere at all - I get ideas and I formulate the code. It doesn't stop just because I'm doing something else.Not necessarily, but in this case your opportunity cost of sitting in the bath thinking about coding is not sitting in the park thinking about ducks (Where sitting in the park thinking about ducks represents all your possible alternatives). You can increase this example to any number of tasks at once.
Correct me if I'm wrong in this, Neil. The way I see the situation is that regardless of whether Neil is sitting in the bath or sitting in the park thinking about ducks, he will still be thinking about code. With this in mind, the opportunity cost of coding to Neil is zero in both cases. True, sitting in the bath does preclude Neil from sitting in the park at the same time (or at least I hope it does :D), but neither activity would have a bearing on the opportunity cost of coding, which is nil. Another way to think of it, if you like, would be to regard coding as an involuntary action performed by lower function of the brain - like breathing. With practice you can indeed consciously prevent yourself from breathing for prolonged periods of time, but eventually something else takes control - be it a loss of consciousness or whatever - and then BAM! you're (hopefully) breathing again. Now, if we apply this concept of how the act of coding works, then coding itself bears no cost (opportunity or otherwise) as it is _always_ a concurrent activity. The actual fruits of this coding, however, may involve an opportunity cost as the physical action of typing in code and testing it may preclude Neil from having a bath or sitting in the park (let's not talk about Laptops yet, _please_!). Sitting in the bath, however, does not prevent Neil from breathing or coding. Grant. -- Artificial intelligence is no match for nuratal stidutipy. -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the message body to unsubscribe.