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About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker avoids silly actions unless they are intentional.
In plain terms
I don't do pointless things unless I mean to.
What can you take from it?
Be intentional about actions that seem frivolous.

Where it applies

  • creative work
  • team dynamics

Putting it to work

  • set clear goals
  • avoid accidental waste

Questions to consider

  • When can unplanned actions be valuable?
  • How do you differentiate purposeful from accidental silliness?

Another view

Sometimes accidental silliness can lead to unexpected insights.

More from Larry Wall

  1. ... an initial underscore already conveys strong feelings of magicalness to a C programmer.

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  2. : And it goes against the grain of building small tools. Innocent, Your Honor. Perl users build small tools all day long.

    Permalink to quote #46
  3. We all agree on the necessity of compromise. We just can't agree on when it's necessary to compromise.

    Permalink to quote #43

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