Really? The device you&#x27;re reading this on probably contains more complexity than it&#x27;s possible for one person to understand in a lifetime, and that&#x27;s <i>one device</i>.<p>It&#x27;s incredibly naive (or at best disingenuous) to assume that complex systems can be reduced by thinking and refactoring. Perhaps some can, but when you consider many of the software artefacts we use daily (seeing as that&#x27;s the context of this subthread), such as operating systems, virtualization platforms, or even good ol&#x27; clunky enterprise applications, you can&#x27;t just wish the complexity away with a bit of hard work.