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Software development topics I've changed my mind on

(chriskiehl.com)
873 points belter | 1 comments | 05 Feb 25 09:50 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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tines ◴[05 Feb 25 14:00 UTC] No.42948564[source]▶
How does

> There is no pride in managing or understanding complexity

interact with

> If I think something is easy, that's a sure sign I don't understand it.

? Is it implying that you must understand the irreducible complexity, but mustn't take pride in that understanding? Or is "difficult" the opposite of "easy" here, rather than "complex?"

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mathw ◴[05 Feb 25 14:05 UTC] No.42948628[source]▶
Both easy and difficult problems can have simple or complex solutions. Two different axes of measurement.

Most problems in software seem to end up being harder than they look, so if I think something is easy I have to suspect I've missed something.

Most solutions in software end up being more complicated than they needed to be, because we don't have the hindsight to realise that until after we've done it and our managers are demanding the next thing.

replies(1): >>42950912 #
1. tines ◴[05 Feb 25 16:30 UTC] No.42950912[source]▶
Sure, but that's not really what the quote says, it doesn't talk about making things more complicated than they really are, it just talks about "complexity."