Doing the thing is doing the thing

Similarity to Earlier Work / Possible Plagiarism

• Many note the post is very close to a previous “things that aren’t doing the thing” essay, to the point some call it a near-duplicate or outright plagiarism.
• Several link back to the earlier HN thread and say this discussion is essentially a rerun that should maybe be treated as a duplicate.

Doing vs Planning, Preparation, and Meta-Work

• Strong agreement that people often mistake planning, talking, world-building, architecture docs, and “getting everyone excited” for actual execution.
• Others push back: planning, mise-en-place, and training (e.g., for a marathon) are necessary dependencies, but warn they can become infinite loops or avoidance behaviors.
• There’s debate over whether preparation is “a different thing” (planning the battle vs fighting it) or still part of “the thing” when it’s genuinely required.

“Doing It Badly” and Iteration

• Many resonate with “doing it badly is doing the thing”: ship an ugly version, learn from reality, then refine.
• Several frame this as alpha/beta/rewrite cycles, “plan to throw one away,” and “make it work, then make it pretty, then make it fast.”
• Critics note that in some domains (life-critical systems, hostile codebases) bad initial execution can have compounding costs and real harm.

Corporate and Management Dynamics

• Multiple stories of companies where quick prototypes get prematurely rushed to production, leading to fragile systems and mistrust between management and engineers.
• Others describe “problem admiration societies” and layers of management that talk, analyze, and blame but rarely implement.
• There’s disagreement over whether fewer managers always increases useful output or just leads to catastrophic failures later.

Enjoyment vs Outcomes / Who Defines “the Thing”

• Some argue that if someone enjoys doing something badly (e.g., playing piano), that still “counts” for them; others complain about externalities (noise, Dunning–Kruger).
• A recurring theme: it’s fine to enjoy thinking, dreaming, buying tools, or talking—as long as you don’t lie to yourself that this is progress toward a specific outcome you care about.

AI, Delegation, and Automation

• Mixed views on whether “telling AI to do the thing” is itself doing the thing: some see it as acceptable delegation if the result meets your goal; others feel it reduces their sense of ownership.
• LLMs are praised as “bad first draft” machines that help bypass analysis paralysis, but there’s concern about overreliance and increased gap between prototype and robust production.

Meta: Internet, LLM Slop, and Tone

• Several comments dissect the tone of certain posts as likely LLM-generated, noting a rising tide of “LinkedIn-style” generic productivity prose.
• This sparks worries about the web filling with indistinguishable AI-generated content and the need for more critical reading.