I compare the musical instruments that my children and their friends use in the US, with what I used as a child in India.
My flute was a bamboo tube with a few holes in it; each finger movement covered or uncovered a hole. The Western flute is a sophisticated mechanical device with a large number of levers.
The shehani was an analog of the bamboo flute. Its Western equivalent, the oboe, seems as sophisticated as the western flute.
Clearly, the cost of producing a shehnai is much less than an oboe. And, there are fewer things to go wrong, and tune-up in the shehnai.
What does this mechanical sophistication, and increase in cost, do? Does it make it easier for the musician? Or, does it allow the production of better music? Or both?
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THe golden rule of any design development effort is: KISS
The problem is engineers drive design and engineers are trained to solve problems. Most engineers believe their proposed solution/approach to a problem is the right one and that s/he can always improve on a previous design. Complex design comes into play when engineers lose sight of the big picture. Case in point is remote controls for electronics. Marvelous engineering, very poor usability. Achieving a complex design is easy. Simple elegant design is hard. It requires a lot of insight and discipline to say no and to know when enough is enough. It is extremely diffuclt to get a product just right - that explains why there is only one Apple.
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