[dirtbag__dad]

> I don’t like senior developers who like trying new technology. I like ones that avoid more complexity.

I guess the author has never worked on a dog shit system with no tests at all and constant downtime.

I have worked with “complexity averse” engineers who would rather fix the edges over and over again, than roll up their sleeves and just get the job done.

I just don’t believe that using new tools is at odds with avoiding complexity.

Sometimes you have to take it to the chin, and get to use the new shiny thing along the way to move much faster.

[throwaway74628]

Any can can be kicked down the road in the name of pragmatism, sure, but IME the kind of tech debt you’re describing often comes about from lack of fear and respect for complexity and the damage it can do. Before you can reduce complexity, you must first manage it by breaking the problem into smaller parts through categories, boundaries, and contracts; so many software engineering best practices concern this aspect.

That is to say, the rolling up of sleeves usually involves first adding tests for existing behavior and then doing more-or-less what’s described. The tools involved are aside to this; “catch as catch can”