JnJ

Divide and Conquer

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Jake Lingwall
Jake Lingwall

I'm not qualified for this rant and I'm probably wrong

I use so many phrases that I don't understand where they came from, or even what they mean. In fact, it's a troubling how often "sayings" I've used my entire life have regrettable origins/meanings.

Idioms. I had to google that word even. So again, take this with a grain of salt.

BUT, divide and conquer is used wrong most of the time. I believe the origin was about wanting to divide the enemy and then destroying them. Example: trick the enemy into sending half of their army across the river, then attack half of their army with your entire army. It's not about dividing YOUR army.

So when people are... I don't know... looking for something, splitting into groups and searching different rooms doesn't actually apply. You've only divided your army. You're not creating a numerical advantage. It's madness! This has to stop!

Or it doesn't. It doesn't really bother me, but I do like envisioning someday when I'll use that point to win a hypothecial argument of great importance. As a general workflow principle, I think it's the same as essentially limiting your work in progress (WIP) as a group. If everyone focuses all their effort on a subset of the problem, you'll be effectively dividing the problem and conquering.