Is Simplicity Simple

Complexity is not the problem, ambiguity is. Simplicity does not solve ambiguity. Clarity does.

https://uxdesign.cc/the-quest-for-simplicity-5c31ae2c553f

Is Houdini a complex program or an unclear one?

Is Arch more complex than Ubuntu, or vice versa?

Maybe people like the complexity they create for themselves not because it is better structured, but because they know where everything has been placed.

Games strive to create a smooth difficulty gradient. In productive tools the goal is to flatten that as much as possible, but are limited by functionality—or maybe the need to document functionality?

Elegance is the word I like most for “good simplicity”. Achieved by clear purpose rather than abstraction and obfuscation. Obfuscation is beyond watershed-one of simplicity. Most uses good simplicity could be swapped out for “elegance”, because “simplicity” is an ambiguous descriptor. Most beautiful example is Typescript. Being a superset of JavaScript, by definition it increases the complexity of the language. Yet clarity is increased dramatically to make js an almost usable language.

Going further here is probably just arguing about semantics. So how do we create clarity in user experiences? One approach might be to reduce the choices available on screen. Does anyone really use that? Can we just stuff it in a menu somewhere. Homer fat meme. Alternatively there is the option of arranging elements in a way that aligns with existing patterns, expectations, and gut reactions. This of course requires research.

Finally my dear brethren if anything is elegant, clear