And I&#x27;m going to go further and claim: Plan 9 is contentious. It continues where Unix left off and pushes the idea of radical simplicity of design.<p>The &quot;Worse Is Better&quot; essay[1] illustrates a bit of the controversy over radically simple design, which Gabriel contrasts with &quot;doing the right thing.&quot;<p>The philosophy that led to Plan 9 is articulated in &quot;cat -v considered harmful&quot; : &quot;One thing that UNIX does not need is more features. It is successful in part because it has a small number of good ideas that work well together.&quot;[2]<p>I am firmly convinced that this is an unpopular position. People really do want more features, and are not really concerned about how well they work together ... until they don&#x27;t, in which case they have a reason to post an incredulous condemnation.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dreamsongs.com&#x2F;WorseIsBetter.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dreamsongs.com&#x2F;WorseIsBetter.html</a><p>[2] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;harmful.cat-v.org&#x2F;cat-v&#x2F;unix_prog_design.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;harmful.cat-v.org&#x2F;cat-v&#x2F;unix_prog_design.pdf</a>