Date: 2025-05-25

The illusion of progress

Newer hardware doesn't necessary simplify computing, it decorates it.
A thin layer of efficiency painted over a bloated architecture that's
fundamentally unable to shrink, only adapt. The system grows, not
because it must, but because it can.

Intel N100, M1, Ryzen - the names change, the bloat stays. They're
efficient at being complex. But efficiency built on complexity is
still complexity. You don't need 8 cores to move a file. You need
one, and you need control.

The problem isn't that these chips use too much power. The problem is
that they use power to manage their own design flaws. They spend
energy simulating simplicity.

When you reject fake progress, you stop being impressed. You start
seeing the machine for what it is - a servant, not a showpiece.

You don't write better code because your IDE helps. You write better
code because your editor has nothing but a blinking cursor.

The best systems don't give you power. They force you to be powerful.

This is why creative constraint is superior to capability. Capability
can be outsourced. Constraint has to be mastered.

Comfort dies. Freedom wakes. A reboot, clean and sharp.