People who disagree aren't trying to make things complex

Re:People who disagree aren't trying to make things complex by klodolph on Tuesday December 11, 2018 @06:33PM (#18660005)

The reason a bridge is so constrained is because we have scaled the difficulty of the problem upwards until it is near the limits of our budget and ability.

Many software projects are profitable without being anywhere near physical limits. Other software projects are not, if you are working for an HFT, then you're counting microseconds and measure distances by how long it takes light to travel. If you're storing 10^10 bits of data you don't need to even think about it, at 10^15 bits of data you can go to the store and buy a bunch of hard drives, and at 10^20 bits of data you need a team of experts to make it even possible, never mind cost-effective.

If civil engineering looked like software engineering, a big chunk of our civil engineers would be building popsicle-stick bridges to carry occasional featherweight loads across 1-inch gaps, but there would still be some real bridges out there.

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Re:People who disagree aren't trying to make things complex by skybrian on Tuesday December 11, 2018 @07:21PM (#18660270)

For a more realistic comparison, you could look at the relationship between structural engineering and architecture. A lot of engineering goes into structures that are built a certain way just for looks, even though it's more expensive and often less functional.

This even affects bridges. The new eastern span of the bay bridge didn't have to have a tower at all. They chose the more expensive option because it looks better.

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