On: No Silver Bullet: Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering (1986) [pdf]

[nickdothutton]

Plutonium remains dangerous, although is more easily handled these days with a robot claw controlled by a remote operator.

[sinkol → nickdothutton]

That's a perfect analogy. The essential complexity (the plutonium) doesn't go away, but our ability to manipulate it from a safer, more strategic distance (the robot claw) is what's changing.

Well put.