I basically agree with James’ description of the simplicity-complexity dialectic. In my own work, I also tend to use more simple setups again – at least compared to some years ago. However, sometimes you really gain something by modularizing complicated stuff. You have to cope with it at first, but then you might enjoy the fruits of a more simple interface.
This thread and Nathan’s linked blog also deal with the question of simplicity:
BTW, I recently read an interesting book about learning, which refers to music a lot:
The music connection is an empirical study by Anders Ericsson on professional violin players, carried through in Berlin 30+ years ago. He coined the term “deliberate practice”, which, at its core, means a reflected practice that incorporates the continuous expansion of skills and feedback (in contrast to sheer effort and hours of work).
Certainly, you can also apply elements of this to learning a language like SC (although the task of learning an instrument is much more clear to define). What astonished me most during the reading was that, from the viewpoint of psychological science, the evidence for an entity like “talent” seems to be very weak. That’s definitely good news: no mystery and exclusive gifts, learning is a matter of time, will and refined method.