KISS vs SSSS

I am not a fan of the acronym "KISS", which we all know stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid". 

It is probably because I am as against insults as I am for simplicity. 

But the message is good. 

Life is complicated already, so why make it more complicated than it needs to be? We should always remember to keep things as simple as we can. 

Case in point is my experience with can openers. 

For years we used a Swiss Army knife to open cans. There is no more simple way to open a can that I am aware of, except maybe hitting it with a boulder. But that would be messy.

One day, someone took pity on us, and gifted us a "proper" can opener.

The new can opener was heavy, sturdy, and shiny. It felt good in the hand, and it opened cans in a hurry. It was very convenient. It was "better" in every way.

Until it stopped working.

Not that the can opener was that complicated, but compared to the  can opener attachment of the knife, it was. It had vulnerable moving parts, which meant more to go wrong.

I tried fixing it, but failed. I tried again. And failed again.

I set the opener aside, unsure of what to do with it. Metal recycling? Melt it down and make a hammer, or an anchor? 

Or how about a Dadaist art piece from the kitchen rather than the bathroom? Duchamp would approve.

Now we are back to using the same Swiss Army knife that we opened cans with before Big Can Opener came into our lives. It works just fine, and will continue to do so indefinitely.

The Can Opener Incident was a good reminder to KISS, if I liked to use that acronym. 

Alternatively, I can be reminded to "SSSS", which is not as catchy to say (unless you are a ssssnake), but is just as effective in practice, and without the insultment.

"Simplify, Simplify, Simplify, Simplify."

This is always good advise when it comes to can openers... and everything else.

SSSS.