Why writing correct software is hard
Spotted 2026-11-12 22:06 (UTC+8) · original event 2026-11-12 · sources: Hacker News · spreading on 1 platformHeat score
Rank score: 7540% — where it sits on the charts
Discussion score: 9040% — how much people are talking about it
Cross-platform score: 3020% — how many platforms it spread to
Composite heat score:52.0rank × 0.4 + discussion × 0.4 + cross-platform × 0.2 — includes a -20-point cooling decay (peak passed, attention fading).
Why it matters
Correctness is expensive and complexity grows faster than intuition; developers underestimate why bugs are inevitable.The angle
The core argument in one minute: complexity vs correctness, with a concrete exampleSuggested format: Short video · for DevelopersEvidence chain
• HN #2, 202 pts, 84 comments (2026-11-12 23:07)• essay pron.github.io• 00:07 update: HN #5, 235 pts/98 cmt• 01:07 update: HN #8, 262 pts/111 cmt• 2026-11-13 02:07 update: HN #9, 279 pts/121 cmt• 2026-11-13 03:07 update: HN #14, 303 pts/131 cmt• 2026-11-13 04:07 update: HN #19, 314 pts/139 cmt• 2026-11-13 05:07 update: HN #20, 324 pts/146 cmt• 2026-11-13 06:07 update: HN #20, 337 pts/152 cmt• 2026-11-13 07:07 update: HN #15, 342 pts/164 cmt• 2026-11-13 08:07 update: HN #16, 350 pts/166 cmt• 2026-11-13 09:07 update: HN #15, 355 pts/166 cmt• 2026-11-13 10:07 update: HN #16, 359 pts/169 cmt• 2026-11-13 11:07 update: dropped out of HN top 30• marked cooling, composite 72.0 -> 52.0