I think the distinction you are looking for is Fred Brooks' "accidental" vs. "essential" complexity. To paraphrase Einstein, your code should be as simple as po

I think the distinction you are looking for is Fred Brooks' "accidental" vs. "essential" complexity. To paraphrase Einstein, your code should be as simple as possible but no simpler. If you've ever tried to write your own code to handle dates you'll notice that much of the essential complexity comes from the crazy rules we use to define calendar years, etc. I suspect a SO falls into the latter category. :)