Dropping stones down the infinite well
February 14th, 2006
“Dropping stones down the infinite well” [phrase]
Definition: The experience of delivering a piece of work that you’re particularly satisfied with, but realise that you’re unlikely to ever hear any feedback about.
Just as you wait for the splash of it hitting the bottom after you let go of a stone, you wait to hear about the impact of your work. The longer you wait, the fainter you expect the response to be, until, eventually, you forget what you were waiting for and give up listening.
Foreknowledge of this likelihood can be demotivating:
“What are you working on Rob?”
“It’s a stone I’m about to drop.”