The Hydra and the Whack-a-Mole
The Hydra is a serpent in Greek mythology with many heads. Whenever you cut off one head, two more emerge. This makes it difficult to defeat. 
The Whack-a-Mole is a game found in many arcades, with holes in the top surface through which the "moles" pop up their heads. You whack one back into its hole with a soft mallet, and then another pops up from another hole, and you never know from which hole the next one will pop up. It's another never-ending battle for good, justice and the Amurrican Way.
Today we released a new version of the game I'm working on. There were problems with the release. We'd fix one, and then another would pop up. To me, this was like fighting the Hydra (a Herculean task). But how many people know what the Hydra is? How many are versed in Greek mythology? I'm thinking it's better, for the purpose of communication, to describe my day as a game of Whack-a-Mole. I'm guessing many more know of Whack-a-Mole than of the Hydra.
sigh
Sorry, Mr. Hansen.
Blog Tag: Chatter
Posted 5/11/2006 05:22:00 PM
L
On 5/11/2006 11:03 PM, 
Michelle said...
On 5/12/2006 12:32 PM, beFrank said...
On 5/12/2006 8:42 PM, dkgoodman said...
On 5/13/2006 9:45 AM, Mary said...
On 5/13/2006 12:49 PM, dkgoodman said...
On 5/13/2006 1:30 PM, Candace said...
On 5/14/2006 1:48 AM, Dak-Ind said...
On 5/14/2006 4:16 PM, 
said...
8 Comments:
I know the creature you're speaking of, i just had no idea of the actual name of it, though i do now...thanks ;o)
Don't get me started on the Ligar.
Ligers and bears, oh my! :)
I AM the Hydra. LOL :D
Dave, I remembered that Hansen-post without clicking on it. Loved that read.
Congrats on the release. Hope all the moles you wacked stay in their holes.
I thought you were the walrus! ;)
Playing Whack-a-Mole? How legendary does that sound?
Slaying a Hydra? Now, that's way cool!
"The Hydra had nine heads, of which the middle one was immortal. Hercules struck off its heads with his club, but in the place of the head knocked off, two new ones grew forth each time. At length with the assistance of his faithful servant Iolaus, he burned away the heads of the Hydra, and buried the ninth or immortal one under a huge rock."
Dave, you ask, "But how many people know what the Hydra is? How many are versed in Greek mythology?"
I ask you, "How many times in your life have you had to look up definitions of words, or historical references, or descriptions of people, places and events, in order to more fully understand a literary piece?"
Dave, one of the many reasons that I love having you as a friend is that, not only do I get to enjoy your company, I get the benefit of learning from and being challenged by you.
Perhaps it's better to motivate others to raise their bar of communication rather than lowering yours. Give them an opportunity to challenge themselves.
Let's face it. Accessing a reputable online reference is one-gazillion-fold easier than, let's say,...
...having to run out, visit your local library, search through the card files, locate the proper aisle and shelf, pull out a massive, voluminous book and find the correct page, which contains the mythological reference for a Hydra.
Oh, my! Did I just date myself?
i know both, but i only know what a "real" hydra is because i had a wonderful Latin teacher in high school who believed the Roman and Greek mythology was as important as declining a noun (and infinitly more interesting as well).
sadly, however the first thing to come to mind when i see the term is the monster you can make called a Hydra when you play as zerg on star craft.
i like whack a mole.
I thought I was pretty smart because I heard about the Hydra in a song, "Get it on, bang a gong," (you've got the teeth of the hydra upon you.) Guess I need to read books instead of listen to music to get my education.
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