Jargon item of the day: Second-system effect.

second-system effect: n. (sometimes, more euphoniously, second-system syndrome) When one is designing the successor to a relatively small, elegant, and successful system, there is a tendency to become grandiose in one’s success and design an {elep…

second-system effect: n. (sometimes, more euphoniously, second-system syndrome) When one is designing the successor to a relatively small, elegant, and successful system, there is a tendency to become grandiose in one’s success and design an {elephantine} feature-laden monstrosity.

(The Jargon File 4.0.0.)

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