7 ms·
I think the issue is that techy/engineer-types are big fans of elegance. It's undeniable that services like Zapier are elegant in the sense that they generalize
by dvt 6y ago
I think the issue is that techy/engineer-types are big fans of elegance. It's undeniable that services like Zapier are elegant in the sense that they generalize pretty well, they can "do it all" and, in all honesty, they're not too hard to figure out. With that said, there's no true value in elegance. And while generalizing is definitely a good idea for a mathematical proof, it might be a bad idea for a product.
I have to admit that a lot of times (especially when building side-projects/toy startups), I second guess myself when it comes to these kinds of product decisions -- "Is this product too simple? Too bare-bones; too much of a one-trick-pony? Would anyone pay for this?"
- siscia 6y agoI believe that was separate senior engineers from the other is having passed the phase of elegance. Eventually we want stuff that works, without looking at them. On twitter people were asking what is clean code? My answer to that is that the cleanest code is the code you never have to open in an ide to figure or tweak.
- eximius 6y agoPut another way, elegant code is not always good code.
- RonanTheGrey 6y agoI have written some beautifully elegant code in my time. It's code that I now hate returning to because I don't understand it at first glance. (Granted this was years ago. I don't code that way anymore and haven't for quite some time). I've learned my lesson.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- kamerontanseli 6y agoThis reminds me of what Don Norman quotes in "living with complexity" around how people buy the microwaves with all the buttons even though it's harder to use.
- Scoundreller 6y agoI would buy a 1-button microwave: enough pushes of the +30s button is all I need.
- jatone 6y agonow if i could just find one without the fucking clock.
- osel 6y agoI have one of these [1] which has two features that I like: - Super simple buttons - No clock if you don’t set it (it turns off after a few minutes of first power on) [1] https://www.lg.com/nz/microwave-ovens/lg-MS2336DB https://www.lg.com/nz/microwave-ovens/lg-MS2336DB
- karatestomp 6y agoThe two-dial ones of old were the best. Set power dial (or don't touch it if it's already where you want it), turn timer dial. Microwave goes until timer dial hits zero. No "start" button, no cancel, no menus, no preset crap. Just two dials.
- nicbou 6y agoI bought mine 5 years ago and it's just like that. I realised that I don't even need a time dial. An on/off switch would be just fine.