bikeshedding
arguing over trivial matters
TRANSLATION
bikeshedding = sich über Kleinigkeiten streiten --- GOOGLE INDEX bikeshedding: approximately 700,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
I guess I can say my comments about Mark's blog post are purely BIKESHEDDING.
(Staten Island Times)
---
I think it is worth BIKESHEDDING over this for a while, there's no hurry to implement this feature.
(www.apache.org)
(Staten Island Times)
---
I think it is worth BIKESHEDDING over this for a while, there's no hurry to implement this feature.
(www.apache.org)
Did you
know?
bikeshedding
slang
- technical disputes over minor, marginal issues conducted while more serious ones are being overlooked.
(Urban Dictionary)
---
The expression "bikeshedding" originated from Parkinson's Law Of Triviality. This theory was proposed by British historian and author Cyril Northcote Parkinson in 1957 and argues that organisations give disproportionate weight to trivial issues.
He discussed the concept in Parkinson's Law, a spoof of management, which includes the Law Of Triviality. He uses the example of a committee's deliberations on a nuclear power plant, comparing it to the construction of a bicycle shed. As he put it, "The time spent on any item of the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum involved."
He uses the example of a nuclear reactor because it is so costly and complicated, an average person cannot understand it. So everyone assumes that those working on it understand it. Even those with strong opinions often withhold them for fear of being shown to be insufficiently informed. On the other hand, everyone understands a bicycle shed (or thinks they do).
Building a bike shed can then result in endless discussions because everyone involved wants to provide input and show that they have contributed. While discussing the bike shed, debate emerges over whether the best choice of roofing is aluminium, asbestos or galvanized iron. The real issue of whether the shed is a good idea or not is overlooked in the process.
(adapted from Wikipedia)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"If too many people attend a meeting, there's a higher risk of bikeshedding."
slang
- technical disputes over minor, marginal issues conducted while more serious ones are being overlooked.
(Urban Dictionary)
---
The expression "bikeshedding" originated from Parkinson's Law Of Triviality. This theory was proposed by British historian and author Cyril Northcote Parkinson in 1957 and argues that organisations give disproportionate weight to trivial issues.
He discussed the concept in Parkinson's Law, a spoof of management, which includes the Law Of Triviality. He uses the example of a committee's deliberations on a nuclear power plant, comparing it to the construction of a bicycle shed. As he put it, "The time spent on any item of the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum involved."
He uses the example of a nuclear reactor because it is so costly and complicated, an average person cannot understand it. So everyone assumes that those working on it understand it. Even those with strong opinions often withhold them for fear of being shown to be insufficiently informed. On the other hand, everyone understands a bicycle shed (or thinks they do).
Building a bike shed can then result in endless discussions because everyone involved wants to provide input and show that they have contributed. While discussing the bike shed, debate emerges over whether the best choice of roofing is aluminium, asbestos or galvanized iron. The real issue of whether the shed is a good idea or not is overlooked in the process.
(adapted from Wikipedia)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"If too many people attend a meeting, there's a higher risk of bikeshedding."
