Complexity Removed

First post! This blog will be a placeholder for my thoughts of computer/software engineering/development and other technologies issues.

The title of this blog was inspired by a quote of Burt Rutan, the architect of SpaceShipOne: “Complexity we remove can never fail.”

Burt is definitely not the first one who stress on simplicity. Einstein’s left this famous quote half a century ago: “Things should be made as simple as possible, not simpler.”

Another famous quote from an anonymous is “KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid!” While I totally believe simplicity is the way to go, I do think this quote is as accurate as the quote from Brut or Albert, at least in the context of engineering.

In my experience, simplicity is not likely to occur naturally. Usually, the first draft of my software is more complicated than necessary. Keeping it is not enough. We need to take additional steps to pursue it.

The first version is often like the path we draw when the first time we try to solve a large maze. The first is often not the shortest. It takes additional steps to remove the unnecessary steps.

Simplicity is not mere of keeping. It is a matter of “remove”; it is a matter of “make”.