Simple over elegant

Do you ponder this as much as I do? Elegant is cool. It shows off. It illustrates we can think. We can think something through in all it's nuances and intricacies; but is it the right thing?

I'm not convinced that elegant is so cool - especially when one comes back to maintain it 6 months later. Perhaps at that point, the barrier to figuring out what you did or thought then is simply too much overhead to scale. I mean, let's face it, you've planted a flag here before, so coming back over the same peak is really not that cool. In fact, at that point, you just want to get it fixed and move on. Then, simple is way cooler.

I have worked on too many systems and though myself too clever at the time to choose elegant over simple. Today, I choose simple all the way. Not because I don't think I have anything to prove now. Customers are still expecting that, since they've called in the expert, I am going to be "right a lot".

However, simple does not require a rocket-scientist when things need to be maintained - and I hate having to bag a peak I've bagged before. And no matter how elegant a solution - it will need to be maintained at some point.