Simple Principles to Avoid Overcomplicating the Complex

When we talk about complex systems, the temptation to create even more complex solutions is huge. I’ve seen this happen over and over: it starts with a simple problem, and before you realize it, you’re staring at a Frankenstein of code full of patches and workarounds. That’s why I like to preach a few principles that might sound obvious, but most people tend to forget.

Eliminate All Stupid Yields - EASY

This is a mantra I carry with me. Code and live should be EASY. It it's hard, It is wrong. If you’ve been banging your head against a problem for hours, the issue is usually not your persistence. it’s your approach. Excessive complexity is not a sign of brilliance; it’s just wasted energy. Whenever I find myself in this cycle, I stop. Literally. I close the IDE, take a break, and come back the next day with a clear head. Often, that means running git checkout -- . and starting fresh with a blank page. And I’m not ashamed to say it: some of my best solutions were born exactly this way.

KISS – Keep It Stupidly Simple

There’s a beauty in simple solutions that only those who’ve wrestled with complexity can truly appreciate. The Linux pipe is a masterpiece: the output of one command becomes the input of another. Elegant, minimal, brilliant. Or think of a hash function solving massive problems in O(1). Don’t fool yourself: more lines of code don’t mean more robustness. Many times, it just means you refused to simplify.

DRY – Don’t Repeat Yourself

There’s no middle ground here. Duplicated code is a debt that charges high interest. If you copy and paste, you’re planting a ticking time bomb for future maintenance. And it’s not just a technical issue—it’s a mindset issue. You’re basically telling yourself that you’d rather take the shortcut than face the architecture properly. But the bill always comes due, and most of the time, you’re the one who pays it.

To Smile, You Have to Make It Smile

This line from Tropa de Elite movie (Squad Elite) might sound odd here, but it fits perfectly. Want your database to return results quickly? Then help it smile back at you. Learn how indexes work, how data is stored, how queries are optimized. The point is simple: if you don’t understand the tool you’re using, don’t expect it to magically solve your problems. It’s like putting someone who’s never flown before in the cockpit of an airplane—it won’t end well.

Tests, Tests, Tests

If there’s one thing that separates average developers from reliable ones, it’s the habit of testing. And no, I don’t mean “deploying to staging” or, worse, “pushing to production and seeing what happens.” I mean building tests that actually ensure the health of your code. Good tests let you sleep at night. They give you the freedom to refactor without fear. I’ve made massive changes in legacy code with total confidence because I knew the test suite had my back. And trust me: there’s no greater freedom for a developer than that.

The Problem Is a Coward

A problem is a coward because it never shows up alone. It always brings friends. That bug in the application might be tied to a slow query, which is linked to a missing index, which actually started because the log server was lagging behind in processing events. When this happens, it’s not enough to look only at your piece of the code. You need to have a solid grasp of the whole system: from code to infrastructure, from logs to monitoring dashboards. And even more importantly, you need a team ready to act together — each one seeing their part, but with a shared vision of where the root cause really lies. Solving problems is not about being the lone hero. It’s about recognizing that the problem is a coward. And because of that, you should be ready to fight it as a team.

Wrapping It Up

In the end, none of this is revolutionary. These are simple, almost trivial principles. But ignore them, and it’s only a matter of time before you fall into the trap of unnecessary complexity. Building complex systems isn’t about proving that you can complicate things. It’s about having the discipline to simplify, the clarity to see what really matters, and the courage to start over when you realize you’ve gone down the wrong path.