"Do programmers really find so much fun in creating accidental complexity?"

I certainly did for a number of years - I just had the luck that the cool things I happened to pick on in the early/mid 1990s turned out to be quite important (Web '92, Java '94).

Now my views have flipped almost completely the other way - technology as a means of delivering value.

Edit: Other cool technology that I loved like Common Lisp & CLOS, NeWS and PostScript turned out to be less useful...

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moritzwarhier 2 days ago | parent [-]

I see what you mean, sometimes "accidental complexity" can also be a form of getting to know a technology really well and that can be useful and still fun. Kudos for that :)

	▲	arethuza 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Oh yes I loved building stuff with all these technologies mostly for my own entertainment - fortunately I was in academia so could indulge myself. ;-)