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> Simplicity is a luxury. It’s really hard. And it’s never "just". Amen. I love this - Laughing along all the way, even though it's a direct attack on my whol

> Simplicity is a luxury. It’s really hard. And it’s never "just". Amen. I love this - Laughing along all the way, even though it's a direct attack on my whole command-line life and being. The author makes it even stronger by adding: > What’s easy for you might not be easy for others. There’s always a trade-off. I hate the word "just" too. "Just install the app". "Just Facebook me" "Just use your Google ID" I recognise the author's pain at having to deal with low level minutia because it's cognitively hard. What I feel as unbearable in my list of "just..." hates, is the moral load. I think we should all be a little more considerate to each other before using "just" to imply that something must be asy for someone. I find it no easier to "just use Microsoft" than the author would to recompile the kernel.

humbugtheman 3y ago
hey author here! glad you like it. i didnt intend the article to be "anti command line" or "anti anything". rather "pro empathy" :) the "luxury of simplicity" is a quote from tom macwright's blog post: https://macwright.com/2023/12/31/luxury-of-simplicity https://macwright.com/2023/12/31/luxury-of-simplicity
- nonrandomstring 3y ago
  Boosting empathy is always a great goal. Much enjoyed it. Thanks for the ref too "The luxury of simplicity" is quite a turn of phrase. I'll see if it goes back further. Reminds me of a writer (probably Lewis Mumford) who said approximately; The machinery of Modernity offers all the riches of eternity, except for one thing. It can serve all our needs, well. It can meet all our desires, well. It offers companionship, entertainment, health, wealth and prosperity. Except for one forbidden fruit... that we turn it off. Our desire for simplicity, to stand on our own feet and *not* have the machine serve us... that is what it cannot supply.

humbugtheman 3y ago

hey author here! glad you like it. i didnt intend the article to be "anti command line" or "anti anything". rather "pro empathy" :) the "luxury of simplicity" is a quote from tom macwright's blog post: https://macwright.com/2023/12/31/luxury-of-simplicity https://macwright.com/2023/12/31/luxury-of-simplicity

nonrandomstring 3y ago
Boosting empathy is always a great goal. Much enjoyed it. Thanks for the ref too "The luxury of simplicity" is quite a turn of phrase. I'll see if it goes back further. Reminds me of a writer (probably Lewis Mumford) who said approximately; The machinery of Modernity offers all the riches of eternity, except for one thing. It can serve all our needs, well. It can meet all our desires, well. It offers companionship, entertainment, health, wealth and prosperity. Except for one forbidden fruit... that we turn it off. Our desire for simplicity, to stand on our own feet and *not* have the machine serve us... that is what it cannot supply.