korrents

← People and their mental models

David Crawshaw's mental models

2 claims David Crawshaw made fit 2 mental models. Most often: Activation energy, Everything decays without maintenance. Everything they said here.

Models they name

Their own words name the idea.

Activation energy

Starting is the hardest part, and the bigger the change, the more energy it takes to begin.

Others who think with this model

Shane ParrishMasud HusainLex FridmanTim SweeneyTobias Lütke

Open the model page

Most projects fail before they even begin because the activation energy required to start is too high.

  1. David Crawshaw Software engineer; co-founder and former CTO of Tailscale Most projects fail before they start. They fail because the activation energy is too high. jsonfile: a quick hack for tinkeringcrawshaw.io · 6 Feb 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsMost projects fail before they start. They fail because the activation energy is too high.

    ↗jsonfile: a quick hack for tinkeringcrawshaw.io

    6 Feb 2024

Models we see in what they say

Our reading: their claim applies the idea without naming it. The claim is theirs; filing it here is ours.

Everything decays without maintenance

Institutions, code, cities and knowledge run down by default; keeping something alive is work that has to be paid for.

Others who think with this model

Adam MastroianniBen KuhnBrad DeLongCharles MarohnJensen HuangPieter Levelsand 1 more

Open the model page

Most software has too few users or too short a lifespan for long-term maintenance costs to matter.

  1. David Crawshaw Software engineer; co-founder and former CTO of Tailscale Very few programs ever reach the point that they are heavily used and long-lived. Almost everything has few users, or is short-lived, or both. How I program with Agentscrawshaw.io · 8 Jun 2025All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsVery few programs ever reach the point that they are heavily used and long-lived. Almost everything has few users, or is short-lived, or both.

    ↗How I program with Agentscrawshaw.io

    8 Jun 2025