[scoutt]

Complex problems and complex solutions are two different things. The genius is in solving complex problems with simple solutions. While it might seem that adding a crate to solve a problem is a simple thing, from the system programmer point of view (mine), it is not.

[kaba0]

But it is simply not possible to solve many many complex problems with simple solutions, no matter how hard you try.

Also, using a (hopefully) well-tested library that someone wrote is absolutely a good (and only significant, as per Brooks) way to increase productivity - but also correctness! Do I really have to write a matrix library myself? Sure, I can probably write a function that multiplies two matrices, but will it have sane numerical stability? [1]How can I even test that out? It is a whole separate field, where I likely overestimate my knowledge about. Was it really worth that extreme amount of time to write an almost surely buggy and slower implementation than depending on someone else’s work?

The art of programming is also about knowing when to reach for other tools.

[1] Hell, multiplying multiple matrices already “needs” a dynamic programming algorithm to decide how to associate pairs of them

[scoutt]

I would definitely do like you and reach for math libraries/crates whenever I can, since I suck at complex math. But this also means three things: there is the chance we are both no geniuses, we added a complex "black box" solution (who knows how this library/crate work?) and now we have to babysit a dependency.