Simplicity - The Path Less Followed

TL;DR (AI generated):

No matter the project, start with the simplest solution possible and iterate from there. The reason is simple: experience. Developing experience in the problem domain through small failures and successes is the best way to learn and achieve a viable outcome.

Over the years, I have supervised countless student projects—particularly group projects-and a recurring theme has emerged: a tendency towards needless complexity. Students often gravitate to the latest technology trends without properly considering whether those techniques are appropriate for the problem at hand. In recent years, this has been especially prevalent with AI, which many students treat as a hammer for every nail, despite my frequent warnings that they will fall into this trap. Most do, and that is all right, so long as they learn from the experience.

My advice, whether it is for research or software engineering projects, is to start as simply as possible. If you are building a search engine, begin with a basic bag-of-words model. If you are creating a recommendation system, experiment with a simple rule-based approach. If you are investigating how AI impacts user-search behaviour, replicate a straightforward experiment before pursuing a complete systematic study. The principle is the same: start with something 'stupidly simple' and iterate from there.

The reason this approach works can be traced to a bottleneck that often goes unnoticed: experience. One of the greatest obstacles students face when embarking on a new project is not knowing what they do not know. It is easy to overestimate your own ability and understanding of a problem, while missing its nuances—and, crucially, the characteristics of a good solution.

Keeping things simple at the outset is the best way I have found to counter this lack of experience. By beginning with a minimal viable solution, you gather knowledge gradually. You accrue small failures and successes, refining your work along the way, all without overly investing in "the ultimate solution".