Hacker News Reader

> clever code is art to be studied and enjoyed. they are the vehicles of growth, of new and important ideas.

I don't think you quite got the idea this article was trying to convey. Here's a simplification:

Don't make simple things look hard.

Hard problems require convoluted solutions, however those solutions can still be broken down into simpler steps. Don't obfuscate the simplicity, allow all the simple parts to work together to create something complex.

View on HN

hard problems don't require convoluted solutions, i think. the nature of simplicity is that, if aspired to, it could be realized in the small as well as the big since it really is a description of cohesion. i understand that starting a conversation about simplicity will lead us nowhere: there are as many opinions/definitions of 'simple' as there are people in the world. in this statement lies the fact that regardless of level of experience (related or unrelated), a priori intelligence, and general disposition towards new things, we have our expectations of simple. that can't be right! we need to learn new simpler forms that require higher intelligence to grasp. to the initiated, einstein's equation is simpler than newton's because it allows a lot more derivations that were impossible with newton's. i suggest that we deliberately move people towards einstein's as the new simpler forms. in the example code the author showed, they appeared to identify advantages that are on net better for any software application. they should adjust their expectation of what simple is, and make an effort to help so-called juniors move up a level or two so that they can develop more powerful simple forms.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com