Law Of Sloth

"Conserve Thy Energy." -- Random Elder God

The Law Of Sloth is the act of taking the path of least resistance. In its most productive form, whenever one does something the LoS allows the most efficient use of energy. For example, CodeReuse, networking, talking to a guru about your latest coder's demon, and other such things. The best use of the LoS is a balanced action where energy is expended in the most efficient manner to produce the desired result.

In its worst case, the LoS can be detrimental to any progress whatsoever. For example, if you want a message board for your site, first look for a free one taken care of on someone else's server. If you want a site, first look for the easiest way of producing it or at least give up and enjoy someone else's site. If you want to enjoy someone else's site, first make sure there's nothing on TeleVision: reading is hard work! The worst use of the LoS will take you under the waves, firmly plant you in an octopus's garden and leave you to rot in your own self-loathing.

If you want a site, first look for the easiest way of producing it or at least give up and enjoy someone else's site. If you want to enjoy someone else's site, first make sure there's nothing on TeleVision: reading is hard work!

No, that's called wanting to have it both ways, and it's an invalid application of the "law". The "law" presumes the validity of the goal (wanting a site, enjoying a site), and only deals with the way in which you achieve it.

I know the examples above were facetious (or at least, I hope they were!), but looking at them more closely might be useful:

The first half of the first example ("if you want a site, first look for the easiest way of producing it") is valid. The second half ("at least give up and enjoy someone else's site") could be valid, too, if your real goal is "I want to be able to do x", rather than "I want to make my own site so that I can do xxx". The second example begs the same question: is the real goal "enjoying someone's site", or "recreation"?

In any event, there seems to be a feeling of "if you didn't do it yourself, you don't deserve it" in those examples. Personally, I don't attach any shame to heading down to the supermarket to buy steak rather than building a barn and raising and butchering my own steers (even having done it both ways...).

CaveatEmptor.

It was in the worst-case paragraph and sounds more like an example of a previous page called 'YakShaving'.

Also see: LazinessImpatienceHubris, CategoryReuse