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Written by Christoph Berger on 2025-01-22 at 15:13

Always be clear about the difference between "complex" and "complicated".

A complicated system has many moving parts, yet they work together in a well-defined way. A combustion engine or a compiler are examples of complex systems.

A complex system has many moving parts whose interactions are poorly defined or even unknown. Predicting the behavior of a complicated system can be impossible.(*)

Treat complex systems merely as complicated at your own peril.


Trivia

The Zen of Python includes these lines for a reason:

Simple is better than complex.

Complex is better than complicated.


(*) This being said, there is some irony in the fact that extra features on a timepiece are called "complications" and not something like "complexifications". (**)

(**) This fact has historical reasons. The term "complication" was coined by clockmakers before modern system theory created the distinction between "complex" and "complicated".

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