Simplicity is the hardest thing to build

Every complex system I’ve ever worked on started simple. The trick isn’t starting simple - it’s staying there.

There’s an instinct in engineering to add. Another config option, another abstraction layer, another microservice. The discipline is in knowing when not to. When good enough is actually better.

The best code I’ve written in twenty years isn’t clever. It’s obvious. The kind of code where someone new opens the file and immediately understands what’s happening.

That’s what I try to build. Not impressive systems. Obvious ones.