Pope Gregory's revenge on programmers

Great example of a big reason that programming is hard: because it serves humans, and humans are damn messy. There are 1,000 exceptions to even the most seemingly simple tasks...how many of them is your software going to try to handle?

Clean, beautiful software often gets to be that way by imposing constraints and filtering users--the people who don't like those constraints just go elsewhere. Want folders in your email? Don't use Gmail. Want to write more than 140 characters? Don't use Twitter. Etc.

Unsatisfying software is often that way because it cannot employ those filters. Corporate apps are a great example. Don't like that weird compensation package HR negotiated with the Europe division? Tough--build it anyway. Don't like the favored color palate of the CEO? Tough--build it anyway.

Dates are like a corporate app for everyone. Don't like that Sweden made a bad decision a few hundred years ago? Tough--build it anyway.

But ultimately no piece of software can handle every exception...we're just too damn messy.