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You seem pretty touchy about the analogy. I understand that the 'hacking' meme has been overplayed here. Above though, I'm just pointing out that simpler is o

by tc 17y ago

You seem pretty touchy about the analogy. I understand that the 'hacking' meme has been overplayed here. Above though, I'm just pointing out that simpler is often better in a number of different fields, even for complex problems. The Supreme Court spends a great deal of time trying to lay down the simplest tests and precedents they can. The Bill of Rights was a simple document which addressed centuries of complex abuses. Smart companies try to find the simplest policies and procedures that could possibly work. And yes, in technology we often find that a simpler process scheduler works better than a more complex one.

potatolicious 17y ago
The 'hacking' meme is well beyond overplayed - and doubly worse is that it's less of a "har har we're witty internet people" meme and more of a cult. > I'm just pointing out that simpler is often better in a number of different fields, even for complex problems. Yes, but that in no way suggests that simpler solutions are better in this field - that neither of us are really qualified professionals in (I'm assuming you're not a policymaker or politician :P) > lay down the simplest tests and precedents they can For good reason, but again, this in no way suggests that simple, one-liner policies would be better than, say, a 100-page tome of laws that address specific cases. > And yes, in technology we often find that a simpler process scheduler works better than a more complex one. And yet this still has no bearing on whether or not this holds true in politics. The whole concept strikes me as "simple solutions work better in technology, clearly they also work better in politics", which to me is an absurd statement to make. Think about the tax system. What's the simplest system? Flat tax for all? Is this the optimal solution? Most people would say no - but yet it's the simplest, easiest to calculate, and least burdensome in terms of processing cost (both for the filer and the taxman). We have highly complex tax systems that work considerably better than the lowest-common-denominator easy solution. Which isn't to say there isn't a simpler solution that would work better, but it certainly breaks the notion that simpler = better.

by tc 17y ago

potatolicious 17y ago

The 'hacking' meme is well beyond overplayed - and doubly worse is that it's less of a "har har we're witty internet people" meme and more of a cult. > I'm just pointing out that simpler is often better in a number of different fields, even for complex problems. Yes, but that in no way suggests that simpler solutions are better in this field - that neither of us are really qualified professionals in (I'm assuming you're not a policymaker or politician :P) > lay down the simplest tests and precedents they can For good reason, but again, this in no way suggests that simple, one-liner policies would be better than, say, a 100-page tome of laws that address specific cases. > And yes, in technology we often find that a simpler process scheduler works better than a more complex one. And yet this still has no bearing on whether or not this holds true in politics. The whole concept strikes me as "simple solutions work better in technology, clearly they also work better in politics", which to me is an absurd statement to make. Think about the tax system. What's the simplest system? Flat tax for all? Is this the optimal solution? Most people would say no - but yet it's the simplest, easiest to calculate, and least burdensome in terms of processing cost (both for the filer and the taxman). We have highly complex tax systems that work considerably better than the lowest-common-denominator easy solution. Which isn't to say there isn't a simpler solution that would work better, but it certainly breaks the notion that simpler = better.