ChatGPT sez: The quote "Complexity seems to be a lot like energy: you can transfer it from the end-user to one/some of the other players, but the total amount seems to remain pretty much constant for a given task." is attributed to Richard P. Gabriel, a well-known computer scientist and writer. Richard Gabriel is recognized for his work in software engineering and his writings on programming, software design, and the philosophy of software development.
This particular quote encapsulates a key idea in software design and system architecture: the inherent complexity of a task does not disappear but can be shifted between different components or stakeholders within a system. The insight is that while the burden of complexity can be moved around, the overall complexity involved in accomplishing the task remains essentially unchanged. Gabriel has written extensively on these topics, often exploring the balance between simplicity and complexity in programming and design, and the impact these have on developers and users. * * * Gabriel wrote many of his more seminal pieces in the 1980s. There is a famous Kurosawa film from 1985 called "Ran": <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ran_(film)> \- not sure if there is any relation to some video game which may have been inspired by both.
