Sunday, May 9, 2010

Salnick's First Law


Complexity is the enemy of reliability




First corollary:
Simplicity is harder than complexity

Second corollary:
Complex solutions are usually the first ones discovered

Third corollary:
When a simple solution and a complex one are both possible, the complex one results from an inability to grasp the entire problem at once.




(See also: Salnick’s Second Law
               Salnick’s Third Law
               Salnick's Fourth Lawl
               Adam's First Law)



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8 comments:

Mike said...

"Complex solutions are usually the first ones discovered"

I definitely find that this is true.

Drew Frye said...

Somehow this explains the prevalence of electronics and high-tech materials on sail boats; we rediscovered simplicity, but couldn't help trying to improve upon it.

Mike said...

Just yesterday I was building some shelves in a hanging locker. There are some vertical strips of wood in the locker that I thought, required me to notch out the shelves to fit around them. After jumping through various hoops, finally doing that to the first shelf, I realized while test fitting it that there was a much easier and practical solution. If I had thought about it a bit longer before starting I "might" have come up with that improved solution.

Robert Salnick said...

Drew: Very true. We do seem to be too willing to sacrifice simplicity for comfort or convenience. And I am guilty!

Mike: Indeed it is the way of things. But you should not chide yourself for not seeing the ultimate solution at first - I believe that you needed the experience of the first effort in order to be able to see thru to the simpler solution.

bob

Mike said...

I believe you are right. Too bad we can't more easily just jump to the "best" solution.

Ken said...

Whatever the thickness of the upper plate (base?) hinge a small, maybe 1/2" wide or just enough to cover the slot the full length to that plate. It can be held up flat to the overhead with a small clasp and then let down 90 degrees and also held with a hook clasp maybe, in a seaway.

Joe in Shoreline said...

Mickey, I was thinking the same thing but use a spring hinge that is either firmly closed against the end of the rack or against the bottom of the cabinet. The wood will hide the hinge unless it is in the "underway" setting

Anonymous said...

A little bit late to the party here, but how about unscrewing the tracks, laying down a sheet of neoprene underneath, then screw the tracks back on. You would have experiment with the neoprene thickness and screw tension to get it so the glasses just fit, but don't rattle.

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