The sufficiency of the solu- tion and then its elegance depends very heavily on the context of the problem boundary—it makes no sense to discuss sufficiency or elegance without first defining that boundar
design and elegance is a universally recognized goal for system design
elegance and sufficiency are separate properties of a system
complexity is then a matter of size (of problem domain) and perception (perceived complexity)
OED: pleasantly ingenious and simple
elegance has both quantitative/practical and qualitative/abstract/romantic aspects
which one do i choose?
abstract: - grace - style - pleasing - crative
practical: - simple - neat - parsimonious
assumption: simple is beautiful
how does one make something complex, simple? (open question by pierre)
the rest is an almost-mathematical demonstration of sufficiency as being the one which satisfies only each of the problems element within the probem domain
subjective elegance of a system reduces with time as the subject learns about the problem. so over time, as the problem is deemed more and more simple, it’s harder to find a notion of elegance in a solution
and then he gives three examples: - cutting a straight line into paper - shaving nose hair - fractioned satellites system