Today's hike was an midday interruption to an all-day marathon of reinstalling Linux on my laptop. The reason for the reinstall? To switch from CrunchBang Linux back to Arch Linux. Why? I lacked a virtue. While I've got impatience and hubris, my laziness is in short supply.
Installing Arch Linux reminds me that the word “simple” is its own antonym. Arch is simple. It has no installer, and after you (manually) follow the steps to put Arch on your computer, your computer won't have any graphics or even the ability to connect to a wireless network. These features and anything else beyond the minimum you want for your computer you must install explicitly.
To use a car analogy, Arch Linux is like a car with a manual transmission, manual steering, manual windows, no A/C, no radio, etc. Imagine this no-frills car and ask yourself this question: Is this car simple?
On one hand, the car is the very model of simplicity because it doesn't have needless complexity. Here, “simple” is the opposite of “complex.”
On the other hand, the car is harder to drive because the car lacks features that assist the driver. In this sense, the car is not simple. Here, “simple” is the opposite of “easy,” or “convenient.”
These two uses of the word “simple” are often at odds—something to keep in mind the next time you say something is simple.
3 comments:
I would considering going for a hike in the rain "simple."
Bobby et al.— It's simpler than dealing with billions of ones and zeros, that's for sure.
Bobby et al.— Your comment inspired me to change the title of this post. Thanks!
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