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Cognitive load is what matters

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1455 points nromiun | 1 comments | 30 Aug 25 12:58 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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lxe ◴[30 Aug 25 14:51 UTC] No.45075154[source]▶
Introducing intermediate variables is what I call "indirection". You're adding another step to someone reading the code.

Let's take a recipe:

   Ingredients:
   large bowl
   2 eggs
   200 grams sugar
   500 grams flour
   1/2 tsp soda

   Steps:

   Crack the eggs into a bowl. Add sugar and whisk. Sift the flower. Add the soda.
When following the instruction, you have to always refer back to the ingredients list and search for the quantity, which massively burdens you with "cognitive load". However, if you inline things:

   Crack 2 eggs into a large bowl. Add 200g sugar and whisk. Sift 500g of flower. Add 1/2 tsp soda.
Much easier to follow!
replies(4): >>45075166 #>>45075910 #>>45075921 #>>45076490 #
1. aDyslecticCrow ◴[30 Aug 25 16:31 UTC] No.45075921[source]▶
your example makes me question how much you bake.

The instructions are simple to remember, the ingredient quantities are not. Once i have read the recipe, i have a clear idea what i need to do. But i may need to look up the quantities. Looking for those in a block of text is a waste of time and error prone. Having a recipe formatted like the 2nd example is only useful for a someone inexperienced with baking.

Its also difficult to buy or bring out the ingredients if they're hidden in text. Or know if i can bake something based on what i have or not.

If you've baked an really old recipe from a book, you may find instructions like "Mix the ingredients, put in a pan, bake until brown on high heat", with a list of quantities and not even a picture to know what it is you're baking. An experienced baker will know the right order and tools, and how their oven behaves, so it's not written out at all.

If i look for recipes online, seeing the instructions written like you have makes me reluctant to trust the author, and also makes me annoyed when trying to follow or plan out the process.