Terence Eden. He has a beard and is smiling.

Terence Eden’s Blog

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Everything Is Too Complicated

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A completely black image.

In the book "Mostly Harmless" an Earthman finds himself stranded on a distant planet with a primitive level of technology. He had been extremely chastened to realise that although he originally came from a world which had cars and computers and ballet and Armagnac he didn't, by himself, know how any of it worked. He couldn't do it. Left to his own devices he couldn't build a toaster. He could…

A Polite Way To Say "Ridiculously Complicated"

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Lots of tangled wires.

The one book I insist my new hires read before starting is Edward de Bono's "Simplicity". It suggests that we should value others' time over our own. Every hour we spend making things simple gives a net benefit to humanity. Whether it is laws, industrial design, software, or documentation - our goal should be to make things radically simple. Not only does simplicity save time - it also saves…