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Weekly Reflection #26 - Deceptively Simple
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Each week, I share one insight. One piece of wisdom. One question to reflect on. (and a little Lagniappe) InsightI spend a lot of time writing design documents for software systems these days. Recently, after several hours of spinning my wheels, I reached an "aha" moment. I scrapped half of my work and refined the other half, getting the idea down to its essence. What came out the other side was a software architecture that was deceptively simple, and yet couldn't have existed any other way. A good design is teased out of fresh ideas built on foundational principles. It takes iteration, contradiction, and a unique perspective. Sometimes a beautiful design just falls right out of the process, almost instantly. Sometimes the design puts up a real fight before it settles into something special. WisdomThe test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Crack-Up (1936)
ReflectionWhat design in your life wants to be simpler? Lagniappe
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Weekly Reflections Newsletter
Practical insights on platform engineering, developer experience, and building teams that ship. Each issue is written to be useful, actionable, and applicable. No filler, no promotions-only emails. Enter your email and sign up for free right now.
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