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Comment by hnhg | Hacker News Reader

I assume from the downvoting that this isn't a very popular approach.

I am under the impression that the purpose of voting is to reward interesting contributions to the discussion, whether or not you agree with what has been stated.

EDIT: To respond to the issue of the arguable merits of my post — I made my post because the majority of comments here are describing preparatory activities performed on one's computer. I wanted to give some of my non-computer related warmups, since they can also apply to projects that aren't necessarily software-oriented.

Whatever others may say, I like you. I actually do as you do, regarding the notebooks. I have a dozen moleskines of all kinds, and my select fleet of "Idea Pens and Pencils" specific to the task. I rarely ever read what I write- the act of putting it safely in its place cement the threads together into an increasingly intricate web of the whole. While your OJ story is out there, I'd happily work with someone like you. Cheers-

They say that you're an expert in something when you can clearly explain it to others. The "throwaway notebook" strategy is, in my opinion, a great way to quickly and safely test (and refine) how much of an expert you are about the idea for your new project, at any level of granularity you care to attack it.

All very true (although I have a "scary" memory from my paternal grandmother that lets me remember just about anything I can slot into a framework/taxonomy/whatever).

But I always find myself going back tot he notebooks once or twice to refresh myself on one detail, look up a particular incantation, whatever. It's nice to have them in reserve for that.

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