Many if not most of the successful systems I've encountered in my life are designed using easy-to-articulate [[Principles (index)|principles]]. I've come to appreciate the power of **design that can be explained using the fewest number of words**. This feels like a principle of principles, really: > [!tip] Within reason, prefer system design choices that can be explained using the fewest number of words. If something is easy to say, it's easy to understand. If something is easy to understand, it's easy to work with. If something is easy to work with, it's more likely to be successful. Obviously the "number of words" is a [[Proxy Measures|proxy]] [[Metrics|metric]] for [[Simplicity]]. That's the real value here; and [[Simplicity is Worth Effort]]. [[Almost every runaway success I've ever had was centered on something simple.]] It's also [[Make the Decision that Informs all Subsequent Decisions]] where the decision you made has obvious ramifications. ## Examples - From [[VS Code]] - All settings are stored in a single [[YAML]] file - From [[Obsidian]] - (basically their whole [manifesto](https://obsidian.md/about)) - Notes are the truth. The cache is disposable. - From both of the above: - Most commands should be available via a [[Command Pallet]]. - The [[JSON]] spec - Is fully articulated using a [handful of simple graphics](https://www.json.org/json-en.html) **** # More ## Source - self