XPost: alt.folklore.computers   
   From: Peter@Iron-Spring.com   
      
   On 1/12/26 04:49, The Natural Philosopher wrote:   
   > On 11/01/2026 20:44, rbowman wrote:   
   >> On Sun, 11 Jan 2026 05:55:12 -0600, Harold Stevens wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> Greybeard quants like me operated on 3 simple maxims:   
   >>>   
   >>> 1. Anything that works is better than anything that doesn't.   
   >>> 2. If if ain't broke, don't fix it.   
   >>> 3. If it breaks, don't ignore it.   
   >>   
   >> Those go way beyond programming...   
   >>   
   > Part of the 'philosophy of engineering'.   
   >   
   > Perhaps the most fundamental one, after 'an engineer is someone who can   
   > do for five bob what any damn fool can do for a quid' is   
   >   
   > 'In the construction of mechanisms, complexity should not be multiplied   
   > beyond that necessary to achieve the defined objective'   
   >   
   > Ockham's Laser...   
   >   
      
   Now if only computer people could follow this rule. Our rule seems to be   
   "why not add just this one more feature"   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)