Comment by 0xbadcafebee

When you see the words "complex", "simple", and "easy", keep this in mind: these are words that exist to help humans communicate their difficulty in interacting with the world.

This whole post is a discussion of philosophy. There are three different ways you can think about software:

  - philosophy
  - science
  - function

The philosophy of software involves people trying to understand what software is. Humans have a desire for knowledge and understanding, and like to explain things they come into contact with and think about. A lot of the time there's no "objective" philosophical explanation, try as we might to find one. Despite that, many explanations in this realm end up being useful.

The science of software is computer science, which is more about math than anything else. This is the only place you're gonna find objectivity or consensus, because you can't really argue with a number. Discussions around CS are less poetic and more boring, and require a lot more knowledge, so you won't typically find these on HN.

The function of software is the day-to-day practice of writing and using software. This is the grunt work, the meat and potatoes. No need for philosophy or science. Just put the legos together and kick the tires. This is 99% of what 99% of software developers deal with. Most people don't think about the science or philosophy of the coffee they're ordering or the bike they're riding; they're just ordering it, riding it.