My Theory of Perfect Simplicity
Many “popular” things are not popular or widely-used because they’re better (in the sense that they “do” more or are superior in their design). They’re better in the sense that they’re accessible to the greatest number of people, or they do one thing extremely well. Popularity – lasting popularity – is a result of something having that “thing” I think of as “perfect simplicity”.
When I do just about anything in life, whether it’s for work or for pleasure, I relish opportunities when I can do something simply but well. There are many opportunities to do this in the field of programming. A program, well-written, can be a beautiful thing. Perhaps only other programmers can understand that statement, but I think the truth is comprehensible to just about anyone when they think of what a program is: it’s a set of directions for getting from one place to another.
If I can give those directions very clearly and accurately, the program will work as it should. If I can be succinct and pithy in my “wording”, the program will work quickly and run efficiently. Accomplishing those things is perfect simplicity. (Unfortunately, I am not usually able to do things that way in a typical work environment, but sometimes it happens.)
A great arena in which perfect simplicity can be seen is music. There are a few bands I never grow tired of listening to, but they’re not all “great” musicians. Steve Vai is great guitarist. Buckethead is a great guitarist. But those aren’t the musicians I listen to over and over again. However, I can throw in the Ramones and enjoy their music fairly consistently. Why is that? Part of the reason is that the songs are so simple, and so perfectly executed. The songs are almost all extremely catchy. Because of that, the Ramones are a best-selling band to this day. Technical musicians like Vai don’t sell many CDs, however, in comparison.
So what does this all mean, to you and I? It means we need to demonstrate perfect simplicity in what we do, if we hope to be successful. A way to do that is to specialize in one aspect of your interests, and become good (really good) at something. I personally enjoy a great deal of things: playing guitar, writing, gardening, building things, drawing, programming, playing drums, working out, etc. However, I can’t ever hope to do all or most of those things at an expert level. So I pick one thing (web programming) and do it as best I can.
We can all do that, and I think we’ll see greater success as we maintain focus on one thing in our lives. This perfect simplicity is what we gain from focus and practice, and it breeds success.