Keep It Simple Stupid!

I remember when I first heard this acronym. I was in my grade 11 programming class listening to my teacher at the time, Mr. Kang.  Now if there was one distinct characteristic about him, it was that he was old school.  He carried a metre stick around and you always had this lingering fear that if you spoke out of turn or made a callous remark, that stick would come at you faster than a flash of lightening.  How he wound up as a high school teacher after being in the Korean military is still a mystery to me.

Even I got kicked out of his class once for being roudy!  And mind you I was a straight “A” student who always paid attention in class (I blame my friend sitting beside me). This was a man who did not play favorites.

Another time, for my final project, I made a Chinese chess game.  For a grade 11 project in Turing, this was a pretty impressive project (as far as Turing projects go).  Without much show or fanfare, he simply came over, gave me a nod and said “Nice project.”  And that was very characteristic of him.  He kept things simple.  In his discipline, in his praise and in his lessons.

(Although I even once heard a story about how someone swore he saw in the corner of his eye, Mr. Kang, standing 5 ft tall, do a jump kick and hit the ceiling light 10 ft above the ground.)

You know, life isn’t simple (as much as I’d like it to be), but you know it’s not as complicated as most people make it out to be.  The KISS principle is a great reminder for us to: Keep It Simple Stupid!