The concept of irreducible complexity is not a new one, but I can’t get enough of it.
What is it all about? In three words, it is: “brilliance of simplicity” or designing and manufacturing products which are just complex enough to do what they are engineered to do and nothing more than that.
Your Rebelde is a perfect example of a timepiece which consists of exactly as many components as it needs to have to function. If you take one component out of it, it will no longer become a watch. Of course you can add as many bells and whistles as you want, but the more you add the further you stray away from irreducible complexity.
Our life is cluttered with unwanted and unnecessary things.
Why is it that every new version of an email client comes with 50 new tabs and buttons that you don’t really want? Why does my microwave need to tell me the weather forecast for the next week? Why does my fridge need to be able to browse the web? Why is 4.0 better than 3.0?
The fact remains that my 1965 Olympia typewriter, with all its short-comings, still provides me with far greater pleasure than any Microsoft word processor.
Back to your Rebelde.
There is actually one component which can be removed, and that is the seconds hand. However this will come at a price. If I remove the seconds hand, you would no longer be able to read seconds.
So here is my question-If I remove the seconds hand would your Rebelde become less precise or less accurate?
We tackle the subject regarding precision and accuracy at our watch talk night nights, and the discussion ensues is always an interesting one.
So what is your answer? Without the seconds hand, have we lost precision or accuracy?
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