In his talk, I like the way Jake Nations pits easy vs. simple:
Easy means you can add it to your system quickly. Simple means you can understand the work that you’ve done.
I like this framing.
Easy means you can do with little effort.
Simple means you can understand what you do with little effort.
In other words: easy measures the effort in doing, while simple measures the effort in understanding the doing.
For example: npm create framework@latest or “Hey AI, build an instagram clone”. These both get you a website with little effort (easy) but do you understand what you just did (simple)?
It’s easy to get complexity, but it’s not easy to get simplicity.
(I get this is arguing semantics and definitions, but I find it to be a useful framing personally. Thanks Jake!)