

Pope Gregory's revenge on programmers - coffeemug
https://gist.github.com/coffeemug/6168031

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snowwrestler
Great example of a big reason that programming is hard: because it serves
humans, and humans are damn messy. There are 1,000 exceptions to even the most
seemingly simple tasks...how many of them is your software going to try to
handle?

Clean, beautiful software often gets to be that way by imposing constraints
and filtering users--the people who don't like those constraints just go
elsewhere. Want folders in your email? Don't use Gmail. Want to write more
than 140 characters? Don't use Twitter. Etc.

Unsatisfying software is often that way because it cannot employ those
filters. Corporate apps are a great example. Don't like that weird
compensation package HR negotiated with the Europe division? Tough--build it
anyway. Don't like the favored color palate of the CEO? Tough--build it
anyway.

Dates are like a corporate app for everyone. Don't like that Sweden made a bad
decision a few hundred years ago? Tough--build it anyway.

But ultimately no piece of software can handle every exception...we're just
too damn messy.

