Looking For Keys Under a Street Lamp

There's that old joke about a man looking for his keys under a street lamp. A passerby asks:

• "Did you actually lose them under that lamp?"

• "No, I lost them somewhere over there in the dark."

• "So why are you looking under the lamp?"

• "Because the light's better here!"

One of the more subtle forces that push us into unnecessary complexity follows a similar logic. We're building solutions with the wrong tools because we know them better. This is the dark flipside of the otherwise sound admonition to stick with "boring" technology over the shiny new thing.

For example, when I jumped back into full-stack development after a long time mainly doing scientific programming in Python, part of me wanted to go out and look for ways to handle everything, including interactive web frontends, in Python. Such libraries exist, but, to be honest, they're a good example of looking for keys under a street light not because they're there, but because the light's better. I had to get over it and (re-)learn JavaScript.

The Wisdom to Know the Difference

Sometimes we should stick with what we know and not use the shiny new things. And sometimes we should ditch what we know and learn a new thing. But how do we know which one's right? By not going with our gut:

• If you're excited about using the shiny new thing, check yourself; it might be a trap, and you'd be better off sticking with what you know.

• If you dread learning that unfamiliar technology, that might tell you it's time to face your fears and go for it.

Fear of the unknown can save us from doing something dangerous, but it can also keep us stuck in a "meh, good enough" mindset. Venture out of the light and look for things in the dark places you'll find them. And before you know it, your eyes will adjust.