I'm making David Snyder's San Francisco Sourdough #6 this week.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/28377/my-san-francisco-sourdough-quest-take-6-and-final [1]

It's the first time I build really stiff starters (1:2:4 mother:water:flour).

I usually don't spend much time building a starter: just mix the ingredients into a shaggy mess and leave it alone, which is much easier to do with something like 1:2:2.

How well should a stiff starter be developed/mixed/kneaded? Can I get away with just a rough mix and let time hydrate everything for me? Or do I have to knead more vigorously?

I don't think I should be working them as much as I am, which is almost as much work as I put into a hand-kneaded final dough.