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1070 points dondraper36 | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.212s | source
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codingwagie ◴[] No.45069135[source]
I think this works in simple domains. After working in big tech for a while, I am still shocked by the required complexity. Even the simplest business problem may take a year to solve, and constantly break due to the astounding number of edge cases and scale.

Anyone proclaiming simplicity just hasnt worked at scale. Even rewrites that have a decade old code base to be inspired from, often fail due to the sheer amount of things to consider.

A classic, Chesterton's Fence:

"There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.”"

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MangoToupe ◴[] No.45069264[source]
This could also point to the solution of cutting down the complexity of "big tech". So much of that complexity isn't necessary because it solves problems, it just keeps people employed.
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mdaniel ◴[] No.45069428[source]
This is a horrifically cynical take and I wish it would stop. I doubt very seriously there is any meaningfully sized collection of engineers who introduce things "just to keep themselves employed," to say nothing of having to now advance that perspective into a full blown conspiracy because code review is also a thing

What is far more likely is the proverbial "JS framework problem:" gah, this technology that I read about (or encounter) is too complex, I just want 1/10th that I understand from casually reading about it, so we should replace it with this simple thing. Oh, right, plus this one other thing that solves a problem. Oh, plus this other thing that solves this other problem. Gah, this thing is too complex!

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1. rcxdude ◴[] No.45072807[source]
I think engineers like to create things. And they will tend, on the whole, to create new things when they have a chance, not because they want to justify their employment, but because they like to do it. And so, if you employ a lot of software engineers, you're going to have a lot of code. Combine that with an incentive structure (likely also created by engineers that like to make new things) which rewards making new things but doesn't particularly reward maintaining old things, and you'll have a lot of new things made, whether it's useful on the scale of the whole organization (something which is very hard to get a good perspective on as an individual contributer, anyway), or not.