Comment by flowerlad
5 hours ago
From the blog he linked to: "I’m going to try designing something way more ambitious."
This is how you end up with unnecessary complexity [1]. The best engineers don't aim for "designing something ambitious", instead they come up with the simplest possible design. They take something that seems complex and make it simple.
Unfortunately that's not how engineers are evaluated [2].
[2] https://terriblesoftware.org/2026/03/03/nobody-gets-promoted...
The best engineers don't aim for "designing something ambitious", instead they come up with the simplest possible design
These are orthogonal.
A lot of the dissonance on HN appears to come from two groups of people talking past each other:
a) developers working at some corporation they hate vs.
b) developers working for themselves or somewhere they don't hate
It might be because of happiness, ego, persona, and humility. All are very important factors we consider in establishing our identity, our self.
But because of time, we all have to consider the value of our own time. AI forces you to look in the mirror, and reflect.
Don't be afraid to change: use first principles thinking and broaden your perspective about yourself. Your station, your position in your own mind has changed due to AI. It's easier to think AI will just go away: and our egos and personas can remain unchanged. We'll be back to where we were, and everything we knew about value will be right where it was.
It usually doesn't work that way, and you usually don't do yourselves any favors in being so rigid and stuck in the old way of thinking about yourself. Keep up with the times, but balance your health and happiness.
"I am going to solve a complex problem" is a better goal. If you start with the goal of designing something ambitious then the design will likely end up more complex than necessary.
Orthogonal does not simply mean different.. simple and ambitious designs often run askew of each other but they can also share the same line.
Orthogonal means independent. One doesn’t inherently affect the other.