Understandably, a lot of people are balking at the idea that simple might come before correct. Code that is simple but not correct is not a solution. But the OP

Understandably, a lot of people are balking at the idea that simple might come before correct. Code that is simple but not correct is not a solution. But the OP is not asserting that simple, incorrect code is a superior solution to complex, correct code. Instead, I think the assumption is that there is a solution that is simple (enough), correct (enough), and fast (enough), and that you are not going to stop until you reach such a solution. Correct comes before fast not only because you should make it correct before making it fast, but because you should not sacrifice correctness in order to make it fast. Similarly, simple comes before correct because you should not sacrifice simplicity in order to make it correct (or fast). Instead, you should continue looking for different ways to make it correct while maintaining simplicity.