Re: Don't go all PerlMonks on me

[toma]

It could mean a lot of things. Assigning too much meaning to passing statements is a bad idea. However, I can't resist speculating:

Don't tell me to use strict and warnings.
Don't tell me to figure out a new module.
If we need a new module, you install it and take care of all the details.
Don't tell me to write a simple test program. I want to spend all my time working on broken code.
Don't be pedantic. This is not a teachable moment.
You can work on it, but only if you just fix it and then go away quietly.

[rodion]

Nice list. Of the six choices, I'm betting on some combination of

Don't be pedantic.
This is not a teachable moment.
If we need a new module, you install it and take care of all the details.
Don't tell me to figure out a new module.

There are times when you can think about the best way to do a job and learn something new in the process, and there are times when you need to just get something fixed so you can go back to whatever needed your urgent attention before this irritating problem interrupted.

Obviously, I'm much happier when I can think and learn, and make code better, but all too often the stacked-up urgencies don't allow that. I'd say that to "go all PerlMonks" means to get into the think-learn-and-improve mode, and out of the ASAP mode. (And we all know of examples where the think-learn-and-improve mode is the faster of the two, but it's tough to tell if that's going to be true going into a specific problem.)

[bobf]

You hit the nail on the head. In retrospect, I think it was a combination of the following two things:

Don't be pedantic. This is not a teachable moment.
Don't tell me to figure out a new module.

with emphasis on the former. In the end, the code worked and she could go on vacation with a clear conscience. She may have learned something, but to be honest I think I learned more. This reminded me that not every moment is "a teachable moment" and no matter how much I may want to, doing so may only succeed in limiting the number of teachable moments in the future.