Literally called it “low hanging fruit”.

But context is important. "Low-hanging fruit" doesn't mean the solution is "easy" in a vacuum, it just means this specific aspect is the easiest and/or most obvious place to start attacking a problem.

Or to stick with the language of the analogy, every fruit tree has some fruit that is lower than the others. That doesn't mean all "low-hanging fruit" is within arm's reach of the ground, some fruit just doesn't require as big of a ladder as other fruit.

This comment isn't a judgment of this specific case. I don't know enough about ATC to have any confidence in my opinion on the viability of replacing humans with software.

That goal post moved so fast it made a whooshing noise as it passed

I think you're mistaken. That whooshing sound must have been my comment flying over your head.

That was my first comment in this thread, so there was no established goal to change. My sole goal was to clarify the meaning of an idiom that the comment I was replying to was misstating.

I even included a disclaimer that "This comment isn't a judgment of this specific case", so I don't know how you could have received it as such.

I disagree with you entirely. "Lowest-hanging fruit" isn't the same as "low-hanging fruit". The phrase "low-hanging fruit" does specifically mean that the solution is easy, in a vacuum - the fruits are "low", which is not relative to the other fruits or the height of the tree, but relative to the ground.

I'll just defer to Merriam-Webster[1]:

>the obvious or easy things that can be most readily done or dealt with in achieving success or making progress toward an objective

So not only can it be "obvious" rather than "easy", it is also in the context of "achieving success or making progress toward an objective". There is nothing in the definition that requires either this specific step or the overall goal to be easy.

[1] - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/low-hanging%20fru...