[YayamiOmate]

Depending on the context this is either simply false or a truism. And thus imho offers no real informational value.

You can't design complex system without some buiding blocks which basically definition of 'complex', but you can design a complex system before it's deployed and it can succeed.

Itreatively designed system can hit a scalabilty wall or plateu where adding features is slower that a redesign. An evolving system design is a subject to a local minima of scalability and it needs careful apporach to maintain it.

This sounds kinda like a rephrased "there's no problem that can't be solved by adding another abstraction layer".

[delian66]

I disagree. The observation that working complex systems evolved from simpler ones is very useful, because from it follows a rule that, if you want to make a complex system, your best chance is to make a simpler system, then iteratively improve it. It practically solves the analysis-paralysis problem that otherwise is inevitable.

Even total redesigns will benefit from the experience and information, that you got from the simpler system(s). These are often hard to derive by other means.