The Second Draft Is the Real One

The first version exists to find out what the project actually is. Treating it as precious is the fastest way to ship the wrong thing carefully.

A first draft is a question asked in public. Its job is to be wrong in a specific enough way that the right answer becomes visible.

Cheap first, careful second

Which is why we build the first pass fast and ugly on purpose. Polish invites agreement, and agreement at that stage is the thing we least need.

Nobody argues with a beautiful mistake until it has been built.