Donald Knuth said it best:
We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil.
Every programmer knows this in their head, but getting that through to their heart can be surprisingly difficult. When it comes to applying lessons like the one above, it’s easy to find yourself in the middle of a conflict between doing what you know you should do and doing what you want to do. Continue reading