This reminds me of the situation with software. When writing a program today, I've got dozens of great tools that I didn't have 10 or 20 years ago, but the fli

This reminds me of the situation with software. When writing a program today, I've got dozens of great tools that I didn't have 10 or 20 years ago, but the flip side is that I've got to learn and use all these new tools. You could always limit yourself to the old ways, if weight/complexity were your only criterion, but the world moves on, and we're (apparently) not yet hitting the point where piling on more technology doesn't provide an overwhelming advantage.