Subtract Before You Add

When evolving a system, remove complexity first, then build. Default to subtraction.

Make simplification a continual investment. Leave the design slightly simpler and more capable behind the same or smaller surface than you found it.

• Sequence removal before construction
• Cut before you polish (get to the minimum before investing in quality)
• Design for observed usage, not speculative edge cases
• No speculative validators, parsers, or guards beyond what the spec demands
• Simplify prompts (remove redundant instructions, excessive templates)
• When a reference has no novel content, delete it rather than leaving a stub