In his latest Lex Fridman appearance, Elon Musk makes some excellent points about the importance of simplification.
Follow these steps:
- Simplify the requirements
- For each step, try to delete it altogether
- Implement well
1. Simplify the Requirements
Even the smartest people come up with requirements that are, in part, dumb. Start by asking yourself how they can be simplified.
There is no point in finding the perfect answer to the wrong question. Try to make the question as least wrong as possible.
I think this is so important that it is included in my first item of advice for junior developers.
There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.
2. Delete the Step
For each step, consider if you need it at all, and if not, delete it. Certainty is not required. Indeed, if you only delete what you are 100% certain about, you will leave in junk. If you never put things back in, it is a sign you are being too conservative with deletions.
The best part is no part.
Some further commentary by me:
This applies both to the product and technical implementation levels. It’s related to YAGNI, Agile, and Lean, also mentioned in the first section of advice for junior developers.
It’s crucial to consider probabilities and compare the expected cost/value of different approaches. Don’t spend 10 EUR each day to avoid a 1% chance of needing to pay 100 EUR. Consistent Bayesian reasoning will reduce making such mistakes, though Elon’s “if you do not put anything back in, you are not removing enough” heuristic is easier to understand and implement.
3. Implement Well
Here, Elon talks about optimization and automation, which are specific to his problem domain of building a supercomputer. More generally, this can be summarized as good implementation, which I advocate for in my second section of advice for junior developers.
The relevant segment begins at 43:48.