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arcticbull · 2020-10-08 20:04:12+00:00

> You might argue that we're not there yet, which is fine, but others will argue that it's time to try something else.

But can we agree that trying "nothing" isn't better?

buildzr | karma 573 | avg karma 2.94 · | 2019-06-26 13:13:34

> Doing nothing takes us from having "a less than ideal solution" to having "no solution at all".

No, doing nothing takes us from having a completely harmful and destructive solution that's very difficult to change to having no solution at all.

Sometimes, you need to be willing to accept no solution at all is the least harmful choice.

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tivert | karma 6838 | avg karma 2.78 · | 2023-06-02 10:58:18

> Any time you see someone say the phrase "doing nothing is not an option", you know that they are making excuses for doing something that has proven, time and again, to be just as effective as doing nothing at all.

No, you're going to far. "Doing nothing is not an option", means "don't wait for a perfect solution." "Doing nothing at all" is rarely "just as effective" as an imperfect solution, at least when it comes to the problem under discussion.

It's also worth noting there are frequently people who benefit from certain problems or who are otherwise uninterested in solving them for selfish reasons. Those people really like to push the "do nothing" option.

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PLejeck | karma 168 | avg karma 0.98 · | 2013-10-14 07:06:07+00:00

Not at all. I'm suggesting that arguing that doing nothing is better than doing something is something people do to promote complacency, and has no place in the world.

HeyLaughingBoy | karma 10338 | avg karma 1.69 · | 2021-08-10 16:06:53

> but I don't know what I'd do

How about "nothing."

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Evbn | karma 3114 | avg karma 1.08 · | 2012-10-16 15:07:42+00:00

So, better to do nothing than to try something imperfect?

void_mint | karma 1942 | avg karma 2.84 · | 2021-06-11 16:21:38+00:00

> You easily can get nothing done.

That's exactly what we did. A year spent conducting experiments to validate or invalidate positions based in dogma rather than building, iterating and adding value.

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hackeraccount | karma 1297 | avg karma 1.19 · | 2023-10-26 10:23:14

Is this an argument for doing more or doing nothing?

malfist | karma 2110 | avg karma 1.39 · | 2023-07-06 15:41:59

Then lets not try anything. That's the alternative right?

If you see trying and failing is seen as a worse alternative to doing nothing and poisoning the environment we all live in then you need to take a step back, be less critical, and be okay with partial or incomplete solutions.

Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

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gasull | karma 10567 | avg karma 6.68 · | 2013-06-21 15:21:37

Is doing nothing better?

redis_mlc | karma 1807 | avg karma 0.46 · | 2020-06-01 17:44:47

That's a common fallacy. Doing something is not better than nothing when you don't know what you're doing.

NLips | karma 568 | avg karma 2.02 · | 2016-10-19 15:45:32

I don't mean nothing should ever change, just that sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something, and should at least be considered.

bregma | karma 4327 | avg karma 2.33 · | 2020-09-08 11:58:30

Yes it's better to do something, anything, than to do something useful or correct.

abritinthebay | karma 1846 | avg karma 1.04 · | 2018-04-25 17:51:08+00:00

Instead lets do nothing? That is the tiresome argument.

jazzdev | karma 543 | avg karma 2.25 · | 2018-05-05 01:25:12

But it's not a choice of doing this or nothing. It's a choice of doing this or something else. That something else may be a better use of your time.

lolwut9654 | karma 2 | avg karma 2.0 · | 2021-09-08 15:38:33

Have you tried doing more than nothing?

On many occasions in the past, I’ve found that doing anything often works better than doing nothing, like the US usually advocates.

Turns out that there are no perfect solutions, but there are a lot of partial solutions that in aggregate add up to the mental health the rest of the developed world has.

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jb775 | karma 1208 | avg karma 1.51 · | 2021-08-05 12:06:10

> Do nothing?

Yes. If the currently available options intended to fix a particular problem don't actually fix the problem while at the same time make the offending business more powerful while making the little guy less powerful...then yes, doing nothing is clearly a better option in the short term.

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inovica | karma 1749 | avg karma 2.65 · | 2012-01-28 22:28:57+00:00

I fully agree. Sometimes saying nothing is better. I don't mean forever, but think about it, sleep on it, but don't just 'react'.

gdubs | karma 9763 | avg karma 4.6 · | 2019-10-21 18:02:31+00:00

You missed my point: in life, even doing “nothing” is a choice, with it’s own element of risk.

pvdm | karma 389 | avg karma 1.95 · | 2011-02-13 21:38:20+00:00

Right now, I am reading "The Importance of Living" by Lin Yutang and this is one of points that he was trying to get across. There is no point in striving to do something, our best moments in life are those when we are just loafing and doing nothing in particular.