"Simple Made Easy" - Rich Hickey (2011)
Strange Loop Conference
61 min, 39 sec
The talk emphasizes the importance of simplicity in software systems, contrasting it with complexity and providing detailed explanations and strategies for achieving simplicity.
Summary
- The speaker urges the audience to focus on simplicity in software design, explaining the difference between simplicity and ease, and arguing that simplicity leads to better systems.
- The concept of simplicity is explained through the etymology of 'simple' and 'easy', highlighting that simplicity is objective and unentangled, while ease is relative and subjective.
- Different aspects of software development are analyzed for complexity, with recommendations on how to choose or create simpler alternatives using values, functions, protocols, and more.
- The speaker mentions that simplicity is a deliberate choice that requires vigilance and care, and it's not about the ease of writing code but the quality of the system's artifacts.
- The talk concludes with a call to action to adopt simplicity as a core principle in software development and to use the provided insights to convince others to do the same.
Chapter 1
The speaker opens with an appeal to authority on simplicity, discusses the etymology of 'simple' and 'easy', and sets the stage for the importance of simplicity in software.
- The speaker begins by highlighting the cutting-edge nature of the audience and their receptiveness to new technologies and functional programming.
- A quote from Dijkstra is presented to emphasize that simplicity is crucial for reliable systems, a point the speaker agrees with.
- The speaker expresses a fascination with word origins and explores the meanings of 'simple' and 'easy', emphasizing that simplicity is about being unentangled, while ease is about familiarity and accessibility.
Chapter 2
The speaker discusses how to identify simplicity in software design, pointing out that simplicity is about having a single focus and being free from entanglement.
- Simplicity is linked to the idea of having one fold, one braid, or one twist, which essentially means no entanglement, while complexity involves things being braided together.
- The speaker outlines that simplicity is about achieving a single objective, concept, or dimension in software without combining multiple concerns.
- It is clarified that simplicity does not mean having only one instance or one operation; rather, it is about the absence of interleaving between components.
Chapter 3
The speaker contrasts simplicity with ease, explaining that simplicity is objective and easy is relative, and how this impacts software design.
- The speaker explores how 'easy' is often conflated with 'simple' and explains that 'easy' actually relates to proximity, such as being near to one's understanding or capabilities.
- It's argued that the software industry's infatuation with ease, in terms of instant access and familiarity, is detrimental to learning and embracing new concepts.
- The speaker discusses the notion of capabilities and how focusing solely on familiarity can prevent progress and learning.
Chapter 4
The speaker delves into how simplicity affects the constructs and artifacts used in programming, advocating for simplicity to improve quality and maintainability.
- Constructs in programming languages and libraries are examined for their inherent simplicity or complexity.
- The speaker stresses the importance of assessing constructs based on the artifacts they produce rather than the ease of typing them in.
- The talk touches on the long-term impacts of using simple versus complex constructs on software quality, reliability, and the ability to change.
Summarizing chapters