Sometimes I encounter puzzling bugs or odd behavior that consume tons of debugging time. There may be acceptable work-arounds, but I still try to figure out the bug because I have the fear that it is exposing a huge gap in my understanding of some language or technology and that if I don't crack it, I will keep encountering further manifestations of this alleged gap. It starts to become personal. It is as if the bug is taunting me, shouting: : "You are not smart enough to figure me out and if you quit, you admit you are a dummy and I will return down the road again and again". The proper thing to do is probably to let it go, kind of a YagNi of debugging. ''I think you should figure it out -- the other way leads to VoodooChickenCoding.'' ---- See also: MentalMasturbation CategoryBug