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A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot
by hyperthesis 3y ago
A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system. - Gall's Law
- onetimeuse92304 3y agoNo, that's not true. Easily disproven by example: I have many times seen smart engineers with little experience design and immediately implement an extremely complex solution to a very simple problem. Don't believe everything people say. Just because somebody called something "a law" does not mean it is true.
- muro 3y agoThey might have designed and implemented it, but does it work? :)
- onetimeuse92304 3y agoSometimes it does. Depending on definition of "work":)
- ReleaseCandidat 3y agoA working "complex solution to a very simple problem" is not a contradiction, as it can be "simpler" than a simple working solution to a complex problem.
- thadt 3y agoI think this true, and in agreement with the parent comment. A working complex system evolves out of a smaller working simple system. You have to climb the hill from the one side. Getting to a complex, working system is the 'learning' part. If you want to be able to do the same things with a simpler system, then you have to do the work to collapse that back down to its fundamentals. I don't think it's something that can be 'taught' directly. I suspect it requires the experience of building the simple and then complicated things in order to understand the problem enough to make the complicated thing simpler.