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ソフトウェアエンジニアリングの歴史を振り返る時、Rubyコミュニティで議論された「驚き最小の法則(POLS: Principle of Least Surprise)」の変遷は、設計思想における重要な分水嶺として浮かび上がります。この法則は当初、言語設計者の意図が一貫していることを示す指針として機能するはずでした。しかし、現実にはこの言葉が、ある種の混乱、いわば「バベルの塔」のような状況を引き起こしました。なぜでしょうか。
Rich Hickeyの講演「Simple Made Easy」における洞察を借りれば、Easyの語源はラテン語の「facilis」や古フランス語の「aisie」にあり、これは「近くにある」「手元にある」ことを意味します。つまり、エンジニアリングにおけるEasyとは、客観的な簡単さではなく、「自分の手持ちの知識(familiarity)で解決できる」という主観的な近さを指しているのです。
この「絡まり」の概念を検証するために、Go言語の for 文を例にとって思考を進めます。Go言語はキーワードの少なさ(Minimalism)を特徴としており、ループ構造は for ひとつに集約されています。これは学習コストが低く、書き始めやすいという意味で極めて「Easy」です。
しかし、構造的な視点(Simple vs Complicated)で見るとどうでしょうか。この単一の for というキーワードには、以下の概念が編み込まれています。
カウンターによる反復(C言語的なfor)
条件による継続(while)
コレクションの走査(foreach / map)
無限ループ
「反復」と「条件分岐」という本来直交するはずの概念が、一つの構文の中に多重定義(Overロード)されています。プログラマは for という単語を見ただけではその振る舞いを特定できず、引数のパターンという文脈を読み解く必要があります。これは概念が「編み込まれている(Complected)」状態であり、Hickeyの定義に従えば、Goの for は明らかに「Complicated」なのです。
「Simple Made Easy」の探求は、「合成(Composition)」から、その対となる概念「破棄(Disposition)」へと至ります。システムをSimple(絡まりがない状態)に保つことの最大の恩恵は、実は 「いらなくなった時に、何も考えずに捨てられる」 という点にあるのかもしれません。
I'm currently focused on the Principle of Least Surprise and its trajectory, particularly in Ruby's landscape. My thinking has shifted to incorporating how this principle evolved and adapted to changes in the programming environment. I'm wrestling with the nuances of what constitutes a "surprise" in modern code.
Clarifying 'Easy'
I've been further deconstructing the definition of "easy" and how it relates to the Principle of Least Surprise. It seems clear to me now that "easy" aligns more with familiarity, like Hickey's "facilis," than with objective simplicity. The historical context, particularly Ruby's experience with POLS, highlights this subjectivity. Different backgrounds created conflicting notions of what was "surprising," ultimately leading to POLS's demise in the community.
Confirming Hickey's Insights
I've just solidified the connection between the demise of the Principle of Least Surprise and Hickey's definition of "easy." The POLS debacle directly demonstrates that "least surprise" boiled down to "what I already know," which is entirely subjective and dependent on prior experience. This reinforces that "easy" is not objective simplicity but subjective familiarity, which is fundamentally incompatible with a universal design guideline. This further cements Hickey's point, in my opinion.
Validating Hickey's Point
I completely agree with the user's focus on linking the subjective "Easy" to Ruby's experience with the Principle of Least Surprise. Rich Hickey's contrast between "Simple" and "Easy" is central here. "Easy" hinges on familiarity, memory and habit. It is not about inherent simplicity, but about aligning with existing knowledge and prior experience. Ruby's POLS became a demand for "Easy," reflecting individual pre-existing understanding rather than internal consistency.
Exploring POLS's Downfall
I'm now zeroing in on the problematic interpretation of "Least Surprise" that ultimately doomed it, specifically how it became a weaponized tool in bikeshed discussions, where personal surprise trumped objective design principles. This highlights the dangers of conflating familiarity with good design and emphasizes the subjective nature of "easy," as Matz himself recognized. I'm also planning to incorporate Japanese terminology to solidify my argument's nuanced aspects further.
Defining Intuitive Consistency
I'm solidifying the final output structure now. The intro will strongly endorse the "Easy is subjective" argument. Section one will explore surprise as a deviation from habit. In section two, I'll explain how users weaponized POLS based on their backgrounds, contrasting Java, Python, and Ruby experiences. Section three will relate back to Hickey's points. The conclusion will focus on the shift from "Intuitive" to "Consistent" design principles, recognizing that "banned" should be replaced with "fell out of favor."
I'm now fully immersed in the nuances of "easy" as it relates to familiarity and subjective experience. It seems clear the user agrees with the initial interpretation of "easy" equating to something readily accessible.
Exploring Not-Complicated
I've been drilling into the user's emphasis on "Complicated" as the heart of Hickey's argument. I'm now developing a deeper understanding. I see that defining "Simple" through its antithesis, "Complicated," is far more powerful and insightful. The etymological dissection of "complect" is now essential to my understanding, and I'm keen to integrate it into the response.
Analyzing Entanglement & Surprise
I'm now zeroing in on the core relationship between "Complicated," surprise, and the Ruby context. The braiding metaphor is shaping up nicely. It illustrates how entanglement, like a knot, leads to unexpected consequences. I'm connecting this to the Principle of Least Surprise, showing that true simplicity lies in reducing this entanglement rather than making complexity more familiar.
Deciphering Hickey's Core
I'm now fully immersed in Hickey's emphasis on "Complicated" and its etymological roots in "com-plicare" – to fold together, entangling. The user's point about defining "Simple" through negation, "not Complicated," is resonating deeply. This a-phatic approach allows for elegant, high-level abstractions, as long as they avoid internal entanglement. The lack of surprise, I now realize, is directly linked to the absence of these hidden connections, challenging the initial understanding of "easy" and the Ruby experience.
Focusing on Structure
I'm now fully immersed in the core tenets. I'm building on the "braided" metaphor to highlight how entanglement, even when seemingly hidden, inevitably leads to surprise. I see simplicity not as an absence of sophistication, but as the objective absence of entanglement. The user's semantic focus is guiding me, and I'm avoiding overly technical diversions. I'm confident my response aligns with the expert user's emphasis on structure, as the foundational concept.
Refining Response Generation
I'm now fully immersed in the core tenets. I'm focusing on the structural aspects of a "simple" Ruby implementation, moving beyond the initial emphasis on how it "feels". The emphasis shifts to the underlying organization that makes the code less surprising, and ultimately less complicated. I am now formulating the final output, ensuring that it directly addresses the user's focus on structure.
「Simple is not Complicated(シンプルとは、絡まっていないことである)」という定義は、**「どれだけ高機能であっても、構成要素が独立していればそれはシンプルである」**という視点を与えてくれます。
逆に、どんなにコード量が少なくても、状態(State)とロジック、あるいはViewとModelが密結合して絡まり合っていれば、それは「Complicated」なのです。
I'm now zeroing in on the nuanced distinction between "simple" and "complicated" as Hickey frames it. It resonates deeply with how I've always intuitively processed complexity, but struggled to articulate. I see the potential to apply this lens to various fields, beyond programming, perhaps design principles or even scientific models. My current focus is how this framework aids in problem decomposition and efficient solution creation.
Unpacking Simplicity's Layers
I'm now separating the distinct meanings of "simple." It's clear that conflating "minimal rules," "crude implementation," and "structural simplicity" creates real problems. Focusing on structural simplicity, as Hickey does, provides a valuable lens. It helps disentangle the theoretical elegance of systems like lambda calculus from the practical difficulties of working with them. I'm focusing on how this distinction enhances our understanding and design choices.
Distinguishing Simple Forms
My thinking has progressed to identifying the subtle distinctions in simplicity. I'm focusing on "Implementation Simplicity," meaning "crude," and how it contrasts with "Structural Independence." The former can be quick to write, but leads to coupled, complicated systems. The "Hickey" style of simplicity, which prioritizes structural independence, allows for maintainability, and I now intend to weave this into my response strategy.
Elaborating the Framework
I'm now honing in on the benefits of defining "simple" as "not complicated" to clarify this triangular confusion, especially in coding. I see that separating effort from the code itself helps greatly. Hickey's focus on structural independence provides clarity, and I'm looking at how we can apply this in practice. It's becoming clearer how this improves maintainability and overall understanding. I am starting to draft content structured around defining the common pitfalls.
Defining Architectural Clarity
I've been working on a framework for defining simplicity, drawing heavily on Hickey's ideas. The latest update focuses on the implications of defining "simple" as the absence of complication. This perspective highlights the importance of relationships and decoupling, avoiding the traps of minimalism and crudeness. We can now see the need to clearly delineate different aspects of simplicity, such as "reductionism," "crudeness," and "structural independence," and avoid conflating them in my final content structure.
Defining Good Design
I'm now zeroing in on defining good design through the lens of Hickey's "not complicated" definition. This perspective acts as a powerful filter, helping us reject designs that are only superficially "simple" but ultimately lead to complexities, focusing on the clarity that comes from properly distinguishing reductionism from crudeness, and from structural independence.
ユーザー:
例えばこれはgoのプログラマの一部には納得しない人もいるかもしれませんが、simple made easyの文脈においてはgoのforのsyntaxはcomplicatedなのです。なぜなら通常の言語でのforとwhileを兼ねてるからです。
AIの思考プロセス
Revisiting Go's For Loop
I'm now contemplating Go's for syntax in light of Rich Hickey's "Simple Made Easy" philosophy. Considering how it aligns with, or deviates from, Hickey's emphasis on simplicity and clarity. Examining the different for loop structures in depth.
Dissecting For's Complexity
I'm now finding that the for loop in Go is more entangled than initially thought. It acts as both a forand a while loop, and even has iterator capabilities. This makes it more complicated and less "simple" in the "one thing, one role" sense of Hickey's philosophy. I'm unpacking the implications of this design decision.
Defining Complication's Core
I'm now fully aligned with the expert's insights. The key point is Go's for keyword's inherent complexity due to its multiple roles: loop, conditional, and collection traversal. It's a syntactic knot, not a model of simplicity. I'll focus now on contrasting Go's approach with structural purity in the next stage.
Evaluating Design Choices
I'm now focusing on how Go's design choices impact perceived "ease" versus actual simplicity. It's becoming clearer that while Go's for loop feels user-friendly, it complexly merges conditional looping and sequential iteration. I'm exploring the "Minimal" versus "Simple" dichotomy further, especially regarding the 'range' keyword. The "one thing" principle? This is definitively violated. I am finding this exploration quite fascinating.
Refining Core Concepts
I now understand the point more clearly. "Iteration (Cardinality)" and "Condition (State)" are intricately tied together in Go's for loop. The focus on syntactic minimalism clashes with the pursuit of semantic simplicity. The choice to prioritize easy learning over a simple conceptual model is evident. It's truly a compromise.
Contrasting Simplicity and Choice
I am now focusing on the core trade-off Go makes. It is becoming clearer that Go intentionally prioritizes readability/uniformity over Hickey's ideal of strict simplicity. I now understand that a simpler language would have functions or macros for each specific looping task.
AI:
その指摘は非常に痛快であり、かつ「Simple Made Easy」の定義を正確に適用した素晴らしい例です。
Go言語の愛好家(Gopher)からは「キーワードが少なくてシンプルだ」と反論が来そうですが、Hickeyの定義に従えば、Goの for 文は間違いなく「Complicated(コンプレクテッド=絡み合っている)」 です。
おっしゃる通り、Goの for は「Easy(覚えやすい、書きやすい)」と「Minimal(構文が少ない)」を極限まで追求した結果、概念的な純粋性(Simple)を犠牲にして便利に「編み込まれた(Complicated)」道具だと言えます。
「Simple ≠ Minimal」であり「Simple ≠ Easy」であることを理解していないと、「Goの for はシンプルだ」という主張に対し、「いや、それは機能がオーバーロードされているから複雑だ」という反論が噛み合わなくなります。あなたの指摘は、この議論の核心を突いています。
(返答終了理由: STOP)
ユーザー:
ではsimple made easyとはどういう意味なのでしょうか?
またeasyは悪いものでしょうか?(復習になってしまうかもしれません)
AIの思考プロセス
Deciphering Core Meaning
I'm now zeroing in on the essence of "Simple Made Easy." My central task involves interpreting the phrase, specifically examining the intended implications. This necessitates dissecting each word: "Simple" and "Made" versus "Easy." My current hypothesis involves considering the potential for this concept in the field you're familiar with. Does it resonate with what we already know?
Exploring Implications Further
I'm now delving into the phrase's implications. Is simplicity the hard foundation? Or does it, in the long run, yield ease? This distinction is key. I'm unpacking Hickey's wordplay – how "Simple" is the goal, whereas "Easy" is a state achieved through simplicity or learning. I'm also addressing the question of whether easy is bad – the answer is no, but only in certain nuanced contexts.
Prioritizing System Design
I'm now integrating the nuanced relationship between "Simple" and "Easy" into system design principles. Focusing on the tradeoffs between immediate ease (like junk food) versus long-term simplicity (like healthy cooking) is crucial. I'm exploring the analogy of guitar playing - initial easy chords versus the underlying simple framework of scales and theory. The key is recognizing how initial "hard" (simple) often makes maintenance "easy" later.
Addressing "Easy" Perception
I'm now clarifying the relationship between "Simplicity" and "Ease." It's about achieving ease through a solid foundation of simplicity. I'm focusing on why a "Complex" system often feels deceptively easy at first but then collapses due to inherent complexity. The contrast between immediate convenience and long-term maintainability is central. I'm exploring how ease is good, but only when built upon a bedrock of simplicity, emphasizing the role of prior libraries and knowledge. I am also planning the key ideas for the response.
Analyzing "Easy" Trap
I'm now zeroing in on a critical point: prioritizing "Easy" over "Simple" often leads to long-term pain. The initial appeal of familiarity and speed hides the inevitable slowdown as complexity grows. I'm exploring the "Easy" curve - short-term gains leading to "complected" messes. I'm also contrasting the "relative easy" (about me) versus "absolute simple" (about the code). I aim to illustrate how learning to make something simple easy for myself is the ideal. Additionally, I am comparing Go's potentially complicated, familiar for loop, against Lisp's pursuit of simple primitives. The essence is "simple made easy."
Emphasizing "Result"
I'm now focusing on the crucial idea that "Easy" is a consequence, not a design goal in itself. The user already established the structure-vs-familiarity, and I want to reinforce that "Easy" is a result of prioritizing simplicity. It is achieved not directly, but indirectly by investing in simplicity, the solid foundation. I will highlight this when making the output.
AI:
ここまでの議論を踏まえると、「Simple Made Easy」というタイトルの真の意味、そして「Easy」の是非について、非常にクリアに定義できます。
I'm starting to see a parallel between ease of use and popularity, much like GitHub stars. If something's easy to grasp and utilize, its appeal expands, leading to greater adoption. This realization stems from recent reflections on the "Simple Made Easy" concept. The core principle seems to be that approachability directly fuels popularity.
Examining Easy's Influence
I'm now delving into the "Principle of Least Surprise," connecting it with Ruby's philosophy and Rich Hickey's thoughts. It's becoming clearer: easy paths often attract immediate attention, akin to quick GitHub stars. But this "Easy" often prioritizes familiarity over underlying simplicity. Humans, it seems, are drawn to instant gratification over long-term architectural benefits. Hickey's marketing perspective strongly supports this observation.
Developing the Marketing Angle
I'm presently building upon the "marketing" element, drawing a sharp distinction between the immediate appeal of "Easy" and the long-term advantages of "Simple." I'm now crafting sections on "First 15 Minutes" where "Easy" triumphs and the hidden costs of easy wins, such as technical debt. The challenge lies in showing how simple systems become long-term investments.
Analyzing Perceptions and Pitfalls
I'm now focusing on marketing's deceptive role, contrasting its short-term gains with long-term simplicity benefits. I'm exploring the "Initial velocity" of easy languages like Go, using GitHub stars as a measure of "hype" and ease of entry. Hickey's quote about "Easy" selling while "Simple" persists resonates strongly. I'm building on this by discussing how easy adoption can cloud our judgment, leading to flawed assumptions, such as the perceived correctness of Go's for loop, due to its popularity. I'm also delving into installation friction and "Time to Hello World."
Highlighting Easy's Traps
I'm now zeroing in on the mechanism behind easy adoption, focusing on low-friction entry and the allure of instant gratification. The "demo effect" is key: a quick install versus a deeper dive into system architecture. My goal is to clearly illustrate the danger of equating popularity, as measured by GitHub stars, with design quality. The industry, I'm concluding, is suffering from an "easy addiction." I am careful not to dismiss the importance of stars as an indicator of community health, but it's crucial to address their misleading nature regarding design quality.
I'm currently dissecting the complex concepts of "Easy" and "Simple" as they relate to code design. The goal is to articulate the interplay between these ideas, especially through the lens of Ruby's "Principle of Least Surprise," and their implications for creating understandable code. I am moving past a surface level understanding to a deeper analysis of the etymology of related terms.
Mapping the Terrain
I've shifted focus to analyzing how different programming languages handle complexity. Examining Go's for loop, I'm finding it a prime example of the "Complicated." Alongside this, I am considering the use of GitHub stars as an instance of "Easy" marketing. I'm aiming to weave these threads together into a cohesive narrative, which is taking shape. I'm working to make the connections between these distinct elements clearer.
Analyzing the Evolution
I'm now tracing the evolution of the "Principle of Least Surprise" from its Ruby roots, separating the ideas of "Simple," "Minimal," and "Easy." I'm particularly focused on why "Simple Made Easy" became such a significant phrase. I'm aiming to untangle how the principle's original meaning shifted and its implications for language design. This involves examining the historical context and the changing expectations of the Ruby community over time.
Unraveling the Entanglements
I'm now zeroing in on defining "Simple" through its antithesis: "Complicated." Hickey's definition highlights entanglement, and I'm using that as a cornerstone. Simple, then, becomes "not entangled," representing a single, independent strand. Further, I'm teasing apart the nuanced differences between Simple, Minimal, and Crude, focusing on structural independence as the defining characteristic of Simple.
I am using Go's for loop as a concrete example to illustrate these distinctions.
I'm now working to crystallize my thesis.
Examining Historical Cases
I'm now diving into the historical context, starting with the Ruby POLS case as a prime example of the confusion between Simple and Easy. I'm unpacking the etymologies of "Easy," "Complicated," and "Simple," using this historical foundation to clarify the distinctions. I plan to use the Go example to showcase that minimal does not necessarily equal simple, and the "GitHub Star" analogy helps illuminate what's "easy". Furthermore, I'm working on a "guide"-like writing style to present logical connections more explicitly.
Clarifying the Framework
I am now focusing on restructuring the arguments, starting with the concrete definition of Simple as "unentangled." Chapter 4 will illustrate this with Go's for loop, showing how minimal doesn't equate to simple, and marketing is distinct from engineering. I'm actively working on ensuring a clear flow between the chapters, emphasizing the contrast between these concepts. My current goal is to ensure that the conclusion, chapter 5, solidifies this distinction.
Refining the Argument
I'm now revising my presentation, aiming for a direct connection between the analysis of Ruby and the subsequent definition of "Easy." The goal is to clearly demonstrate how observing Ruby's evolution informs the conceptual framework. I'm also ensuring that the GitHub stars remain in their role as a marketing indicator, separate but relevant to the core engineering concepts. My aim is to strengthen the narrative's internal logic and coherence.
I've been deeply analyzing the input, focusing on fundamental concepts like composability and optimization through fusion. The notion of a neutral element, or "noise," is intriguing and requires further exploration. I'm also examining the implications of purity in functions and the absence of side effects.
Exploring Simplification Further
I'm now connecting the dots between "Simple" as discussed in Rich Hickey's talk and core FP principles. It seems that composability, a direct result of simple, untangled components, unlocks optimization through fusion. This fusion is enabled by the purity of functions and lack of side effects, which I find really interesting. The relationship between simplicity and performance is taking shape!
Defining Mathematical Foundations
I'm now focusing on how mathematical structures like Monoids relate to programming. The concept of identity as "noise" is central yet essential for consistency. I see purity as the pinnacle of simplicity because it avoids external entanglements. This approach seems to tie into Rich Hickey's ideas.
Defining Simplicity's Pillars
I'm now focusing on the cost of achieving universal composability, and the role of identity elements, which the "Easy" mindset may see as unnecessary overhead, while "Simple" appreciates as vital for stability. I'm seeing purity as the ultimate form of simplicity, because it removes "invisible wires" from code. I'm also exploring the connections with optimizations like stream fusion and how identity works in these scenarios.
Clarifying Identity's Role
I'm now focusing on how the identity element, like 0 in addition, solves the empty list problem elegantly. The "Easy" way may fail, but "Simple" maintains mathematical consistency. Purity allows us to separate what from how, enhancing both flexibility and optimization potential. I'm seeing connections between Rich Hickey's ideas on composability and the practical advantages of defining identity.
Synthesizing Core Principles
I'm now integrating the final ideas on identity and purity with "Easy" versus "Simple." The concept of "noise," like the identity element in multiplication, is vital for system consistency. Purity, the separation of value and time, continues to resonate. I'm focusing on ensuring technical terms like "Identity Element" and "Side Effects" are applied accurately and reflecting how "Easy" may create brittle code.
I'm currently dissecting the user's input, focusing on the core ideas. "No attention needed" points to reducing mental load. Simultaneously, "disposable" suggests easy cleanup and discard. I'm exploring how these concepts combine to shape a practical solution, aiming for a system that minimizes effort.
Analyzing Disposability Layers
I've been drilling down on the concept of disposability, specifically separating it into loose coupling at the architectural level and resource management at the implementation level. Conditional logic within resource cleanup is introducing complexity that I'm keen to mitigate. Go's defer statement for guaranteed cleanup is a key element, although its interaction with named returns is generating some cognitive dissonance, and I intend to provide a code example for this edge case. The writing is progressing with the "Simple Made Easy" narrative style, and I'm capturing the underlying thought process.
Deconstructing Complexity's Roots
I'm focused on the disposability aspect, particularly the intricacies of resource management. The limitations of manual cleanup, especially when coupled with conditional logic, have become clear. Go's defer statement, while offering elegance, has introduced a new layer of complexity when used with named returns. I'm building a code example to demonstrate this specific edge case and highlight the intertwining of logic and cleanup phases. The ultimate goal remains a design that enhances safety through simplified disposal.
Evaluating Cleanups' Impact
I'm now concentrating on the impact of cleanup mechanisms, specifically the defer statement in Go. While it appears simple for resource disposal, interactions with branching logic, especially error handling and named returns, introduce complexity. I'm aiming to highlight this using concrete examples. I'm finding that effective disposability is achieved by the composability of components and their corresponding lifecycles, and a core tenet is saving "attention." I'm also planning to build out the loan pattern in the content.
Highlighting Defer's Nuances
I'm now zeroing in on the defer statement's behavior with named returns, particularly that unexpected behavior I presented earlier. The code sample clearly reveals how cleanup logic can unexpectedly mutate the return value, introducing a subtle complexity. I'm focusing on strengthening the narrative with a "Cognitive Exploration Guide" voice, emphasizing the distinction between writing something "easy" and the hidden pitfalls of its behavior. My goal is to make the distinction crystal clear for the user, emphasizing that defer is easy but, can easily become complicated.
Balancing Defer's Upsides
I'm now emphasizing the strengths of defer, which I've realized significantly simplifies cleanup by decoupling it from specific exit paths, especially compared to manual close() in every branch. I'm focusing on the code example and will include detailed comments that clearly illustrate the order of execution. I'll define "Disposable" in the context of both architectural design and resource management. I'm also ensuring that I maintain a balanced perspective on defer, showing its benefits while highlighting potential complexities, such as with named returns. I'm making sure my analysis is objective.
https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/d6f780ed-f1e3-4a8c-8d94-644d41a0b295?artifactId=5589a7ee-b334-4c15-977e-506d8fa14b1e
notebooklmにスライドを作ってもらった。composableとかの部分はカットされてた。