I will say, doing things the hard way is virtuous.
This is not true in all cases. If you want to go from New York to Maine, traveling South until you loop around and come to Maine from the north isn’t somehow more virtuous.
There’s a distinct difference between doing something “the hard way” and adding unnecessary complications. “The hard way” is just a faster way of saying “without all the modern conveniences.” New York to Maine the hard way would be walking rather than driving.
The virtue in doing something the hard way is that it gives you a clearer look at the details. Walking from New York to Maine would give you a much more intimate understanding of the terrain than driving or flying.
I don’t think we have a shared definition of virtuous, but I think it often depends on context. Taking longer to do something such that a deadline is missed and people suffer isn’t desirable.
I don’t think “the hard way is more virtuous” is defensible without adding so many exceptions and clarifications it’s not saying anything at all.
I’mma go with “its useful” to do things the hard way often enough to stay in-practice, as the hard way is both often a backup method and either the method newbies are trained on, or a differentiator between newbies who would rather let things slide when the easy way isn’t working, versus motivated people worth incentivizing.
Sometimes the incentive is “not having to attend remedial training”, sometimes its additional training and raise/promotion opportunities. Its worth remembering that today’s hard way was often the new, easier way in the past.
This is not true in all cases. If you want to go from New York to Maine, traveling South until you loop around and come to Maine from the north isn’t somehow more virtuous.
There’s a distinct difference between doing something “the hard way” and adding unnecessary complications. “The hard way” is just a faster way of saying “without all the modern conveniences.” New York to Maine the hard way would be walking rather than driving.
The virtue in doing something the hard way is that it gives you a clearer look at the details. Walking from New York to Maine would give you a much more intimate understanding of the terrain than driving or flying.
That’s not inherently “virtuous”.
I don’t think we have a shared definition of virtuous, but I think it often depends on context. Taking longer to do something such that a deadline is missed and people suffer isn’t desirable.
I don’t think “the hard way is more virtuous” is defensible without adding so many exceptions and clarifications it’s not saying anything at all.
I’mma go with “its useful” to do things the hard way often enough to stay in-practice, as the hard way is both often a backup method and either the method newbies are trained on, or a differentiator between newbies who would rather let things slide when the easy way isn’t working, versus motivated people worth incentivizing.
Sometimes the incentive is “not having to attend remedial training”, sometimes its additional training and raise/promotion opportunities. Its worth remembering that today’s hard way was often the new, easier way in the past.