The Other Extreme

"Well, I can see your point. Suppose we just forget about all this planning stuff, and just constantly reevaluate where we are and where we need to go," I smiled sweetly.

"Stop trying to bait me, Sonny," replied Roscoe. "We know that anarchy doesn't work eitherjust produces lots of senseless reaction to local events. I think you physicists call it 'Brownian Motion.' Lots of activity, little progress.

"The real issue is this: You have to do any project in a series of steps. The crucial things you need to understand are the best length for each step, and how many steps are required." I could see that he was on the verge of a big exposé, and I wanted to pursue it, so I said, "OK, Roscoe, what you're getting at interests me a lot more than horseshoes, and besides, my wrist is sore. Let's take a break."

Roscoe charitably let me off the hook, horseshoe-wise.

"Yes, let's go get a cup of coffee, and I'll introduce you to the concept of 'short vectors'," said Roscoe. "I'll draw you some pictures while we talk."

So we tramped back up to Roscoe's house, grabbed ourselves some coffee (he keeps his coffeemaker going all day), and adjourned to the back porch.