Daniel Lemire on Why Speed Counts in Professional Work
Daniel Lemire, a computer science professor and researcher, argues that folks in tech and other fields often sell themselves short by moving too slow. In his December 5, 2025, blog post, he says slowness—even on solid work—is a bug, not a feature. He spent six months on a URL parser once, and admits that delay hurt more than it helped.
What Speed Really Means
Lemire isn’t pushing for half-baked results. Speed means keeping pace with your own thinking, cranking through iterations without dragging. Take PhD theses: the one done in two years beats the eight-year slog almost every time, he points out. Projects drag on because they have tons of parts, but you still push hard on each one. It’s not about finishing fast overall; it’s velocity on the path.
Why Bother Going Faster
Lemire lists clear reasons from his career. First, you waste months on dead ends—like he did building a podcast version of a course that students ignored. Second, mistakes teach you, and quicker errors mean quicker lessons. Third, work goes stale fast. Slowpokes cling to old stuff; think of the prof hauling out 20-year-old lecture notes because updating would take another seven years.
Even high-stakes work fits: for open-heart surgery, you want the doc with hundreds under their belt, not the one prepping endlessly. Speed builds skill through reps and keeps you relevant.
Points to Watch
- Check if you’re overcooking minor pieces—step back and test interest early.
- Track real progress, not just time sunk.
- Don’t romanticize delays; measure against thought speed.
- Balance with quality, but err toward motion—adapt or die in changing fields.
Lemire’s bottom line: quit dawdling. Get moving.
