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0 pointslastangryman2y ago0 comments

> as I tend to over-engineer systems and constantly doubt / second-guess my technical decisions

I find this as well. I also think that there is a sub-conscious fear as you become more senior that you need to justify that with more elaborate/complex solutions. In my experience there are also a lot of people in software who never come out of the other side of that view and constantly equate "complex" with "good". Being in an environment with lots of people like this makes it hard sometimes. Ultimately you need to trust yourself and do what you think best. If it goes wrong, at least you know you did it for the right reasons.

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sgtnoodle2y ago

Anyone with young children may be familiar with Peppa Pig, an animated British show. Daddy Pig is an expert when it comes to concrete. A far off land sends for him to inspect their concrete, and he travels by overnight train. In the dining car, his breakfast is catered to better than royalty. When he gets there, he taps a block of concrete with his pen, declares it good, and the king and everyone rejoices.

In many ways, that's what it's actually like when you've punched through and become a true expert in your field. Important problems are solved with an overnight sleep, a cup of coffee, and a few careful taps. By the time you get there you're insane, but at least you're offered both coffee and orange juice if you ask.

flippinburgers2y ago

I don't know what this means about my personal (in-)ability but I've been developing for years (15+) and I feel like all of the other developers I have to deal with are constantly turning to weird, convoluted solutions to problems. I have also never been able to get past the first step in the google interview process so I have this deep, frustrated insecurity. And people constantly like to point out how simple my stuff is in a tone that suggests that is a bad thing.

My hatred of the complex solutions is so deep that I just suffer through all of the commentary silently.

WesolyKubeczek2y ago

You probably need to study the Complex, get to know it really well, almost, but not entirely, embrace it, and only then ditch it in favor of Simple.

I mean, it could just be that your simple solutions have been missing something, maybe something crucial, or you lacked the understanding of the mindset of people loving their complex stuff, which presented a communication barrier.

intelVISA2y ago

Simple is good, you have nothing to fear (as long as it's not naive/laggy).

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