Description: Code poet and technology adventurer
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I think it originally comes from the military, probably the US Navy SEALs, but it’s a popular trope in the racing world, and equally applicable to software development: “slow is smooth, smooth is fast”. It’s intentionally conflicting, but it succinctly states the idea that taking the time to do something well allows you to accomplish the end goal faster overall.
In autocross, it’s often the run that looks or feels slow that turns out to be fast. There are a few reasons why, and the allegory to development is not hard to see. A lack of excitement or surprises may seem slow, but it’s a sign of tight control and keeping within limits. Smooth, gentle, practiced driver inputs can appear almost casual in their ease.