One of the bitter lessons I've learned is that when I think of something, I should always (always!) do a couple searches to see if anyone else has thought of it, before I commit to writing down my thoughts as novel or authoritative.
Someone (typically at Bell Labs in like 1973) has nearly always already had my thought, but then explored it in much richer, finer detail than I have. It's disappointing to learn I'm not an unmatched genius, but much more illuminating to read and think about how others have considered similar issues.
I don't fault Paul for not doing this, it happens to everyone, and I imagine he's quite busy. I do fault all the people who read this draft and didn't do this very easy exercise for him. I think it reflects a undue deference towards frankly uninformed and pretty basic observations.
Someone (typically at Bell Labs in like 1973) has nearly always already had my thought, but then explored it in much richer, finer detail than I have. It's disappointing to learn I'm not an unmatched genius, but much more illuminating to read and think about how others have considered similar issues.
I don't fault Paul for not doing this, it happens to everyone, and I imagine he's quite busy. I do fault all the people who read this draft and didn't do this very easy exercise for him. I think it reflects a undue deference towards frankly uninformed and pretty basic observations.