From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: ralph@inputplus.co.uk (Ralph Corderoy)
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2017 17:12:26 +0000
Subject: [TUHS] basic tools / Universal Unix
In-Reply-To: <20171115140634.7D9A518C08C@mercury.lcs.mit.edu>
References: <20171115140634.7D9A518C08C@mercury.lcs.mit.edu>
Message-ID: <20171115171226.935CD1F978@orac.inputplus.co.uk>

Hi Noel,

> I've often tried to understand why some people create these incredibly
> complicated systems. (Looking at the voluminous LISP Machine manual set from
> Symbolics particularly caused this train of thought...) I think it's because
> they are too smart - they can remember all that stuff.

But smart people don't have to create complex stuff, see Unix.  :-)
Perhaps it's not because these designers of complexity have good recall,
but a mixture of the Brooks's Second-System Effect,
http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/S/second-system-effect.html
and not being constrained.

Constraints of limited computer memory, slow CPU, money, wall-clock
time, manufacturing cost, can all help rein in a design.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.
https://plus.google.com/+RalphCorderoy