--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As Thomas Hobbes observed in the 17th…" description: "\"“As Thomas Hobbes observed in the 17th century, life under mob rule is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. Life on a poorly run software project ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/steve-mcconnell-11957_hobbes_as-thomas-hobbes-observed-in-the-17th-ce_3035941.png" --- # As Thomas Hobbes observed in the 17th century, life under… ![“As Thomas Hobbes observed in the 17th century, life under mob rule is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. Life on a poorly run software project is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and hardly ever short enough.” quote by Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/steve-mcconnell-11957_hobbes_as-thomas-hobbes-observed-in-the-17th-ce_3035941.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/steve-mcconnell-11957_hobbes_as-thomas-hobbes-observed-in-the-17th-ce_3035941.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/steve-mcconnell-11957_hobbes_as-thomas-hobbes-observed-in-the-17th-ce_3035941.png) > ““As Thomas Hobbes observed in the 17th century, life under mob rule is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. Life on a poorly run software project is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and hardly ever short enough.”” [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comparing chaotic software projects to Hobbes' view of life under mob rule, highlighting isolation and hardship. **In simple terms:** Bad projects feel lonely and harsh. Key Takeaway Improve process, foster teamwork. Themes teamwork process software development leadership Mood frustrated determined Type advice reflective When to use this quote - software development - team meetings - project retrospectives Key Concepts Agile project management human factors Questions to Reflect On - How can you reduce isolation in your team? - What process changes could lessen harshness? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mob rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mob-rule/) ## Related quotes > [The theory of social contracts extends as far back as Plato. However, it was the great 18th century social philosophers John Locke, Thomas Hobbes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mainwaring/the-theory-of-social-contracts-extends-as-far-back-as-plato-however/) [Simon Mainwaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mainwaring/) > [“Thomas Hobbes's politics are fitted only to promote tyranny, and his ethics to encourage licentiousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/thomas-hobbes-s-politics-are-fitted-only-to-promote-tyranny-and-his/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“one who, though he never digress to read a Lecture, Moral or Political, upon his own Text, nor enter into men’s hearts, further than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/one-who-though-he-never-digress-to-read-a-lecture-moral-or-political/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [About Thomas Hobbes: He was 40 years old before he looked on geometry; which happened accidentally. Being in a gentleman's library, Euclid's Elements lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/about-thomas-hobbes-he-was-40-years-old-before-he-looked-on-geometry/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [“He read Adam Smith, Thomas Hobbes, and Niccolò Machiavelli.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-mallaby/he-read-adam-smith-thomas-hobbes-and-niccol-machiavelli/) Sebastian Mallaby > [ANTI-ZIONISTS, last of all, exhibit a distaste for certain words. It was Thomas Hobbes who, anticipating semantics, pointed out that words are counters, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-steinberg/anti-zionists-last-of-all-exhibit-a-distaste-for-certain-words-it-was/) [Milton Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-steinberg/) > [This is the manner of noble souls: they do not want to have anything for nothing; least of all, life. Whoever is of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/this-is-the-manner-of-noble-souls-they-do-not-want-to-have-anything/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Life in the state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/life-in-the-state-of-nature-is-solitary-poor-nasty-brutish-and-short/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/no-arts-no-letters-no-society-and-which-is-worst-of-all-continual/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [“In such condition, there is no place for Industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain; and consequently no Culture of the Earth; no Navigation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/in-such-condition-there-is-no-place-for-industry-because-the-fruit/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [However, it was the great 18th century social philosophers John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau who brought the concept of a social contract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mainwaring/however-it-was-the-great-18th-century-social-philosophers-john-locke/) [Simon Mainwaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mainwaring/) > [“Thomas Hobbes said that man is a wolve for anothe one. It seems to me that this became the basic foundation ideology for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steinar-stjern/thomas-hobbes-said-that-man-is-a-wolve-for-anothe-one-it-seems-to-me/) Steinar Stjernø > [Christians - at least Christians in a liberal democracy - have accepted, after Thomas Hobbes, that they must obey the secular rule of law;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/christians-at-least-christians-in-a-liberal-democracy-have-accepted/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [“One reason might be that if I hadn't tripped, I'd have been hamburger. When this sort of thing occurs, people often say that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-quarrington/one-reason-might-be-that-if-i-hadn-t-tripped-i-d-have-been-hamburger/) [Paul Quarrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-quarrington/) > [“The beliefs and behaviour of the Restoration reflect the theories of society put forward by Thomas Hobbes in The Leviathan, which was written in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-carter/the-beliefs-and-behaviour-of-the-restoration-reflect-the-theories-of/) [Ronald Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-carter/) ## More by Steve McConnell > [“it's done by creating 25 times as many dirty tests”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/it-s-done-by-creating-25-times-as-many-dirty-tests/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [... programming requires more concentration than other activities. It's the reason programmers get upset about 'quick interruptions' - such interruptions are tantamount to asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/programming-requires-more-concentration-than-other-activities-it-s/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [The job of the average manager requires a shift in focus every few minutes. The job of the average software developer requires that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/the-job-of-the-average-manager-requires-a-shift-in-focus-every-few/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [“the road to programming hell is paved with global variables,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/the-road-to-programming-hell-is-paved-with-global-variables/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [“usually more time is spent in making good-looking presentation slides than in improving the quality of the software.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/usually-more-time-is-spent-in-making-good-looking-presentation-slides/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [It's hard enough to find an error in your code when you're looking for it; it's even harder when you've assumed your code is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/it-s-hard-enough-to-find-an-error-in-your-code-when-you-re-looking/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [“the error rate in manual testing is comparable to the bug rate in the code being tested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/the-error-rate-in-manual-testing-is-comparable-to-the-bug-rate-in-the/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [“few people can understand more than three levels of nested ifs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/few-people-can-understand-more-than-three-levels-of-nested-ifs/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [ “\[...\] you shouldn't be uneasy about any parts of the architecture. It shouldn't contain anything just to please the boss. It shouldn't contain anything… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/you-shouldn-t-be-uneasy-about-any-parts-of-the-architecture-it/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [It's OK to figure out murder mysteries, but you shouldn't need to figure out code. You should be able to read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/it-s-ok-to-figure-out-murder-mysteries-but-you-shouldn-t-need-to/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [“Programmers working with high-level languages achieve better productivity and quality than those working with lower-level languages. Languages such as C++, Java, Smalltalk, and Visual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/programmers-working-with-high-level-languages-achieve-better/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [The trouble with quick and dirty is that dirty remains long after quick has been forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/the-trouble-with-quick-and-dirty-is-that-dirty-remains-long-after/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [“Be sure that the names you choose favor read-time convenience over write-time convenience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/be-sure-that-the-names-you-choose-favor-read-time-convenience-over/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [Even when you have skilled, motivated, hard-working people, the wrong team structure can undercut their efforts instead of catapulting them to success. A poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/even-when-you-have-skilled-motivated-hard-working-people-the-wrong/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [A typical software project can present more opportunities to learn from mistakes than some people get in a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/a-typical-software-project-can-present-more-opportunities-to-learn/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) [Explore all 57 Steve McConnell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) ## More Hobbes quotes > [Calvin: The more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. Once you are informed, you start seeing complexities and shades of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-the-more-you-know-the-harder-it-is-to-take-decisive-action/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/a-day-can-really-slip-by-when-you-re-deliberately-avoiding-what-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [“In Hobbes’ state of nature, when a male individual conquers (contracts with) a female individual he becomes her sexual master and she becomes his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-pateman/in-hobbes-state-of-nature-when-a-male-individual-conquers-contracts/) [Carole Pateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-pateman/) > [I never felt ostracized or made to feel strange by obsessing over 'The Onion' or 'Calvin and Hobbes.' That was considered completely normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-rich/i-never-felt-ostracized-or-made-to-feel-strange-by-obsessing-over-the/) [Simon Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-rich/) > [Hobbes clearly proves, that every creature Lives in a state of war by nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/hobbes-clearly-proves-that-every-creature-lives-in-a-state-of-war-by/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Calvin: Know what I pray for? Hobbes: What? Calvin: The strength to change what I can, the inability to accept what I can't, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-know-what-i-pray-for-hobbes-what-calvin-the-strength-to-change/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [We want everything in a hurry because our primary aim must be survival in the short term. Long term thinking has seemed like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-butler-bowdon/we-want-everything-in-a-hurry-because-our-primary-aim-must-be/) [Tom Butler-Bowdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-butler-bowdon/) > [The world of a comic strip ought to be a special place with its own logic and life... I don't want the issue of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/the-world-of-a-comic-strip-ought-to-be-a-special-place-with-its-own/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [The theory of social contracts extends as far back as Plato. However, it was the great 18th century social philosophers John Locke, Thomas Hobbes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mainwaring/the-theory-of-social-contracts-extends-as-far-back-as-plato-however/) [Simon Mainwaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mainwaring/) > [If I had rolled along with the strip's popularity and repeated myself for another five, 10 or 20 years, the people now 'grieving' for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/if-i-had-rolled-along-with-the-strip-s-popularity-and-repeated-myself/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [As with Hobbes, we see again, the power of fiction. Rousseau's acount of natural man was no more real than Hobbes's, but following the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wiker/as-with-hobbes-we-see-again-the-power-of-fiction-rousseau-s-acount-of/) [Benjamin Wiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wiker/) > [The fact is that philosophy has been a decisive source of inspiration in all the great crises that Europe has faced. It has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-esposito/the-fact-is-that-philosophy-has-been-a-decisive-source-of-inspiration/) [Roberto Esposito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-esposito/) > [I hope some historian will confirm that I was the first cartoonist to use the word 'booger' in a newspaper comic strip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-hope-some-historian-will-confirm-that-i-was-the-first-cartoonist-to/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I wonder where we go when we die?” “…Pittsburgh?” “You mean if we’re good or if we’re bad?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-wonder-where-we-go-when-we-die-pittsburgh-you-mean-if-we-re-good-or/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Aristotle thought that humans are rational animals and Hobbes thought that we act on the basis of rational self-interest. If only! It's not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/aristotle-thought-that-humans-are-rational-animals-and-hobbes-thought/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) Browse all 101 Hobbes quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As Thomas Hobbes observed in the 17th century, life under mob rule is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. Life on a poorly run software project is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and hardly ever short enough.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve McConnell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/as-thomas-hobbes-observed-in-the-17th-century-life-under-mob-rule-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hobbes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/as-thomas-hobbes-observed-in-the-17th-century-life-under-mob-rule-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/steve-mcconnell-11957_hobbes_as-thomas-hobbes-observed-in-the-17th-ce_3035941.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/steve-mcconnell-11957_hobbes_as-thomas-hobbes-observed-in-the-17th-ce_3035941.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/steve-mcconnell-11957_hobbes_as-thomas-hobbes-observed-in-the-17th-ce_3035941.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As Thomas Hobbes observed in the 17th century, life under mob rule is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and…” — Steve McConnell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Steve McConnell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As Thomas Hobbes observed in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/as-thomas-hobbes-observed-in-the-17th-century-life-under-mob-rule-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/as-thomas-hobbes-observed-in-the-17th-century-life-under-mob-rule-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```