Simplicity is beauty

"Simplicity is hard to sell. It's not sexy; it's boring; it's predictable. Everyone says they want to keep it simple, but their ego won't let them. They have to be sophisticated."

In software engineering, people default to complexity. Every problem gets "solved" by adding more systems, even the smallest ones, just because it has to be automated. Most of the time, it's a patch over a small hole without any view of the bigger picture. Simple miscommunication? Add more Slack channels. Minor differences in an app? Spin up a microfrontend (oh my god). A task that takes minutes? Delegate it to a huge automation pipeline in a big cloud server because it's "scalable." We hide our guilt behind tech, throwing more tools at the feeling that we're not enough, just to feel sanctified.

It's okay to write your own terminal script once in a while. It's okay to recheck documentation repeatedly. It's okay if the code is longer when it brings clarity to the maintainer. It's okay to write documentation if it saves people from jumping into chat every time. It's okay to ask questions again. It's okay to be boring. Not every new framework has a place in the world.

The beauty of simplicity is restraint. The old ways gave us clarity. Whole businesses run on boring mechanisms that serve their purpose and those are the building blocks of the software we rely on today. We should focus on practicality. In a world of abundance, focus is expensive; focus is discipline. Practice removing complexity. If you must add it, do it only when you feel real pain. reminded me of elon musk mantra to remove as much steps as possible, only to add it back when you feel pain. Most of the time, you won't.