Careful as they may be, developers of Eiffel libraries will always run into cases in which, after releasing a library class, they suddenly experience what in French is called esprit de l'escalier or wit of the staircase: a great thought which unfortunately is an afterthought, like a clever reply that would have stunned all the other dinner guests - if only you had thought of it before walking down the stairs after the party is over.
Interpretation
It's common to have brilliant ideas after the moment has passed, often reflecting on what could have been said or done.
This quote highlights the phenomenon of 'esprit de l'escalier', which refers to the clever thoughts or responses that come to mind only after a situation has ended. It's a reminder that in life, particularly in creative and intellectual fields like software development, the ideal solutions or witty retorts often occur too late, prompting reflection on how we can better prepare for future interactions or challenges.
In practice
During a team meeting, you might bring up this quote to emphasize the importance of capturing ideas in the moment.
Writing a class without its contract would be similar to producing an engineering component (electrical circuit, VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) chip, bridge, engine...) without a spec. No professional engineer would even consider the idea.
Perfect reusable components are not obtained at the first shot.
There are only two things wrong with C++: The initial concept and the implementation.
Incorrect documentation is often worse than no documentation.
You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time.
If I be waspish, best beware my sting.
Some of the things you believe were never true. They were someone else's fears. Give yourself a chance to examine your thoughts. Change those that are negative. You are deserving.
Do you think it's funny to be so serious when I'm not even out of high school?' she asked. 'I don't see how it could be any other way,' said Lee. 'Laughter comes later, like wisdom teeth, and laughter at yourself comes last of all in a mad race with death, and sometimes it isn't in time.
Don't try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won't live long enough to find out about, but I'm still curious about them. You know people who are already saying, 'I'm going to be 30 - oh, what am I going to do?' Well, use that decade! Use them all!
Grant me an old man's frenzy, Myself must I remake Till I am Timon and Lear Or that William Blake Who beat upon the wall Till Truth obeyed his call.
When you learn about the teaching and the practice of another tradition, you always have a chance to understand your own teaching and practice.
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