By Craig Larmer, Lead Consultant at Stellar
It’s a truism, albeit counter-intuitive, that complex is easy and simple is hard.
It’s something I see all the time in the BI world where explanations often cross between business and tech audiences.
This article by Jason Kottke explores a closely related theme: If you can’t explain something in simple terms, you don’t understand it.
Kottke quotes John Gruber talking about standard practice at Apple:
Engineers are expected to be able to explain a complex technology or product in simple, easily-understood terms not because the executive needs it explained simply to understand it, but as proof that the engineer understands it completely.
Only through understanding can we make things simpler for each other. It’s not just about providing explanations – it’s designs, implementations and, well, everything!
