> excessively clever people make me nervous, because they leave complex problems in their wake, which I'm not clever enough by half to solve.
They certainly do! And quite often, the reason they leave those problems is either a) they're not clever enough either, b) there's enough actual work that solving them doesn't make them feel clever, and/or c) there are other things they could do that make them look more clever.
I have made some really good money ripping out somebody's too-clever-by-half solution and replacing it with something simple, well supported, and dreadfully unfashionable.
Same here. Then I come back to the site ten years later on another assignment and the solutions I put in are still there. I ask why and am then told that they work reliably, so why rip them out? There is nothing I can say to that but be glad.
They certainly do! And quite often, the reason they leave those problems is either a) they're not clever enough either, b) there's enough actual work that solving them doesn't make them feel clever, and/or c) there are other things they could do that make them look more clever.
I have made some really good money ripping out somebody's too-clever-by-half solution and replacing it with something simple, well supported, and dreadfully unfashionable.