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Hall of FameRich Hickey20119 min readtalkintro

Simple Made Easy

Read on infoq.com

Summary

Rich Hickey argues that simplicity, not easiness, is the foundation of reliable software. He outlines how to choose simple constructs and design abstractions to keep systems understandable and changeable.

  • Simplicity is a prerequisite for reliability; easy shortcuts lead to hidden complexity.
  • Prefer simple constructs (values, pure functions, immutable data) over complex ones (stateful objects, inheritance, imperative loops).
  • Design by answering what, who, how, when, where, why, and keep abstractions small and declarative.
  • Use encapsulation and queues to avoid direct coupling and keep components independent.

Engineers building long‑lived systems should care because simplicity reduces bugs, eases maintenance, and improves scalability.

5/10
architecturefunctional programmingsoftware designclojure

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