[jeffblake]

Imagine you are one of the engineers behind traffic lights. That's something to be proud of, you've built something that keeps people safer, can allow emergency vehicles to pass through, are centrally controllable, it can do this this and this, EVERYONE knows about them... "Hey I'm the guy that invented the traffic light!"

BUT now look at the "primitive" roundabout. It wins. Something thats simpler, won't fail, and actually keeps people safer.

This is the dilemma I always fight with myself when I build tech solutions to problems: Does this really make it better? Just because I think its cool, or even that I am proud of it, doesn't mean its good for people to use. For me it always comes down to what is the best. I believe the best in anything is very objective, and that can often lead to very existential questions...

I make software that replaces paper tickets. The battle is always there when someone will say they just want to stick to paper tickets. Sometimes, its hard to disagree with them.

but when a customer pays me money, I start to feel better for awhile. Then the thought is not: 'is this the best solution to this problem'... but rather: 'is this the best thing I am capable of'