[TUHS] basic tools / Universal Unix

Ralph Corderoy ralph at inputplus.co.uk
Thu Nov 16 03:12:26 AEST 2017


Hi Noel,

> I've often tried to understand why some people create these incredibly
> complicated systems. (Looking at the voluminous LISP Machine manual set from
> Symbolics particularly caused this train of thought...) I think it's because
> they are too smart - they can remember all that stuff.

But smart people don't have to create complex stuff, see Unix.  :-)
Perhaps it's not because these designers of complexity have good recall,
but a mixture of the Brooks's Second-System Effect,
http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/S/second-system-effect.html
and not being constrained.

Constraints of limited computer memory, slow CPU, money, wall-clock
time, manufacturing cost, can all help rein in a design.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.
https://plus.google.com/+RalphCorderoy



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