User:Gennaro Prota/KISS principle
K.I.S.S. redirects here. For the former Korean pop trio, please see Kiss (Korean group).
KISS principle is a colloquial name for the practical principle of aiming at simplicity in all kinds of processes, particularly in systems design. It is widely used in software jargon and engineering, in online chat and has reached popular culture adage status. The term KISS is an acronym, possibly corresponding in origin to the phrase "keep it simple, stupid" though uncertainty exists and many other expansions have been used over the years.[1] Most expansions, anyway, maintain roughly the same idea, which is close to Occam's razor and often equated to Albert Einstein's maxim that "everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler".
Etymology
[edit]The acronym KISS is known to have been in use during the Apollo project in the 1960s[citation needed]. Earlier etymology of the expression is uncertain. There are several theories as to its origin:
- used as a piece of advice from lawyers counseling their clients [citation needed];
- invented in the U.S. Army as army slang [citation needed];
- invented at the Lockheed Skunk Works facility [citation needed].
Trivia (tentative title)
[edit]The story is told of Thomas Edison putting a newly-degreed engineer to the test by asking him to determine the volume of a very irregular vessel. After several hours, the engineer triumphantly produced his calculations, whereupon Edison simply filled the vessel to the brim with water and proceeded to pour the water from the irregular vessel into a graduated container. The engineer was off by almost an order of magnitude.[citation needed]
The term is used by the young and wealthy population of South Dublin, meaning Keep It South Side. Used in a number of cases, it entered society courtesy of the infamous Ross O' Carroll Kelly, when characters were objecting to plans of the possibility of moving the location of an international sports stadium to the North side of the city.
The business community commonly uses the KISS principle when encouraging simpler business plans, simpler processes, and lower overhead.
Bill Clinton's campaign team famously used the related expression "It's the economy, stupid!" in his successful 1992 U.S. presidential campaign.
Master animator Richard Williams explains the KISS Principle in his book The Animator's Survival Kit.
In the interests of modern correctness, the expression is also being expanded to "Keep It Simple, Sherlock" as a more respectful reference, inferring a reference to Sherlock Holmes, the fictional master detective who solved the most complex mysteries through the application of logic and reduction of facts to the core basics.
See also
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