In this Knuth differs from Einstein, who famously said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” (Well, sort of. In On the Method of Theoretical Physics (1933) he wrote: “[T]he supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience.”) Knuth, on the other hand, says that you should make things simpler than possible, at least at first, because that’s the best way to plant the seed of understanding.

This post resonated with me. The past few years of building software, made me realize, building the simplest version helps validate ideas faster.

Along similar lines, On the product side, I was recently introduced to the concept of building a skateboard vs car. This concept helps wittle down scope creep and build the minimal version of a product