Joan Westenberg, in The Cult of Hard Mode: Why Simplicity Offends Tech Elites:

…hard mode is where status lives.

This is exactly what I’ve been thinking about lately. It hurts to hear it out loud.

Read the article, but here are a few quotes that reminded me how far down the complexity rabbit holes I’ve traveled.

And under it all is the same impulse: make it harder than it needs to be, so I can feel smarter than I am.

Simple tools become suspicious. Using Apple Notes or Google Docs is like admitting you didn’t bother to invent your own language. But this is a strange inversion. In most fields, simplicity is the result of expertise. In tech, it’s taken as a sign you’re not even trying.

The fear is not that a simple tool won’t work. The fear is that it will - and that its success will render your complexity performative.

So instead of the boring thing that works, people gravitate toward the interesting thing that doesn’t.

I mean…ouch!

Part of the fun of using Emacs is that I spent the time learning how to use Emacs. I mean, like, a lot of time. It makes me feel like I have a cabinet lined with nerd trophies.

If nobody was watching, would I behave differently? Maybe. I mean, Emacs might be the most amazing bit of software I’ve ever used, but wow do I fiddle with it. Fiddling is fun, but some days I wonder what it gets me, you know?

The timing here is interesting, because while reinstalling only the necessary apps over the weekend, I used Apple Notes to take notes. The interesting part is that I continued to use it, even after Emacs was installed and ready.

Apple Notes is surprisinglyl capable, but I don’t enjoy using it. So what did I do? Yesterday, I re-installed Bear. I’ve always liked using Bear. It’s beautiful and simple and gets right to the point.

Bear is totally an Easy Mode app. Other than tags, there’s not much to play with. Monday, I wrote this in my journal:

Find things with fewer knobs to twiddle

Bear is about as close to knobless as it gets. It’s the anti-Obsidian. It’s the opposite of Emacs. Maybe that’s why it called to me. No knobs is good knobs, or something.

I had no plans to go back to an old favorite for notes. In fact, the plan was to not take notes at all. I nice idea, but I still want to keep records and log things.

Anyway, I’m in a mood. I think I’ll try living in Easy Mode for a minute, even if it means I’m stripped of my titles.