[pjmorris]

"The general tendency is to over-design the second system, using all the ideas and frills that were cautiously sidetracked on the first one. The result, as Ovid says, is a "big pile."

- Fred Brooks, 'The Mythical Man Month' (1975)

[ralferoo]

Oh wow, it's from Mythical Man Month? I've been meaning to read that for years and still never have.

[didgeoridoo]

That and Brooks’ underrated “The Design of Design” are notable for having an almost impossible density of quotable aphorisms on every page. They’re all so relevant today that it’s hard to believe that he’s talking about problems he faced half a century ago.

[shimman]

Never heard of "The Design of Design" but I bought it off this comment chain.

I think our industry would do a lot to take a moment and breath to understand what we have collectively done since inception. Wonder often if we will look at the highly corporatized influence our industry has had during our time as the dark ages 1000s of years into the future. The idea that private enterprise should shape the direction of our industry is deeply problematic, there needs to be public option and I doubt many devs would disagree.