1
Nobody gets promoted for simplicity
We reward complexity and ignore simplicity. In interviews, design reviews, and promotions. Here’s how to fix it.
Terrible Software
Software | Engineering Leadership | Tech
- Popular posts
- 11
- Total points
- 3,935
- HN comments
- 2,355
- Rank
- #323 personal
Visit terriblesoftware.org → RSS feedOn Hacker News Dec 2024 – Oct 2026
Career & Management 6Tech Industry & Business 5Society, Policy & Culture 3AI & Machine Learning 3Software Engineering 2Life, Learning & Writing 2
2
Don't avoid workplace politics
Most engineers think workplace politics is dirty. They’re wrong. Refusing to play politics doesn’t make you noble; it makes you ineffective.
3
What makes you senior
The one skill that separates senior engineers from everyone else isn’t technical. It’s the ability to take ambiguous problems and make them concrete.Retry
4
Mistakes as a new manager
Transitioning from an individual contributor to a manager is tough but rewarding. The key is to delegate, find new sources of fulfillment, focus on quality over quantity, maintain proper engagement…
5
Strengths Are Your Weaknesses
The qualities you value most in engineers are also creating your biggest problems. Here’s how to handle this paradox.
6
The hidden cost of AI coding
AI coding tools boost productivity but may sacrifice the flow state and deep satisfaction developers experience when writing code by hand. What are we losing?
7
Most Influential Papers in Computer Science History
This post celebrates influential papers that shaped technology and communication. Their foundational concepts inspire continued innovation, highlighting the importance of understanding our roots fo…
8
All managers make mistakes; good managers acknowledge and repair
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen Let me tell you something that will happen after you become a manager: you’re going to mess u…
9
"ChatGPT said this" Is Lazy
When you paste ChatGPT’s response instead of your own feedback, you’re not being helpful. You’re being lazy and creating more work for everyone.
10
AI Is Breaking This Thing We Call Trust
AI-generated work can look finished without being understood. That uncertainty erodes trust, slows reviews, and leaves colleagues doing the missing work.
11
The Brain Sandwich
The brain sandwich is a practical AI coding workflow: understand the problem, let an agent help, then verify and explain its work before sharing it.