Branch prediction is a CPU "complexity" that got us in to some amount of trouble. I don't see simplicity as a "virtue", as such: it's all about the ability to

Branch prediction is a CPU "complexity" that got us in to some amount of trouble. I don't see simplicity as a "virtue", as such: it's all about the ability to reason about a system. The more complex it is, the harder this becomes. This makes it harder for implementers to work on it, and harder for users to figure out what is going wrong. On the other hand, complexity often offers useful enhancements such as features or performance. There is some amount of tension here, which is hardly unique to software: you see this in, say, tax systems, regulation/law, design of cars and all sort of things, etc.