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Dan Luu
Dan Luu

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Dustin Curtis and Donald Knuth

When I read Dustin Curtis's old post on how you should own the best wallet, the best towels, the best flatware ($200 for a four person set), etc., because even though "[t]hese might seem like stupid things to worry about, but when you have trust in everything you own, you don’t have to worry about anything. It’s liberating and an amazing feeling.", I can't help but think of Knuth's 1974 Turing award lecture, where he states:

Consider the "trapped housewife," who has to clean off the same table every day: there's not room for creativity or artistry in every situation. But even in such cases, there is a way to make a big improvement: it is still a pleasure to do routine jobs if we have beautiful things to work with. For example, a person will really enjoy wiping off the dining room table, day after day, if it is a beautifully designed table made from some fine quality hardwood

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Or, the house-spouse might simply be pleased by knowing that their working spouse is rich enough to maintain a single-income household.


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