---
id: "quote-dont-get-fancy"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["00:07:14"]
tags: ["system-architecture", "simplicity"]
related: ["claim-fancy-algorithms-fail-agents", "framework-rob-pike-agent-rules"]
speaker: "Nate B. Jones"
speakers: ["Nate B. Jones"]
sources: ["s41-nvidia-open-sourced"]
sourceVaultSlug: "s41-nvidia-open-sourced"
originDay: 41
---
# Don't get fancy with small numbers

## Quote

> "Don't get fancy. Or more precisely, fancy algorithms are slow when your number is small, and your number is usually small in computer science terms."

— [[entity-nate-b-jones]] (paraphrasing [[entity-rob-pike]]'s Rule 3)

## Why It Matters

The operational summary of [[claim-fancy-algorithms-fail-agents]] and the licensing of [[action-simplify-agent-architecture]]. The phrase **"your number is usually small"** is the clincher: in real enterprise workloads, the request rate, document count, or task complexity is rarely large enough to justify multi-agent orchestration overhead.

## See Also

- [[claim-fancy-algorithms-fail-agents]]
- [[framework-rob-pike-agent-rules]]
- [[action-simplify-agent-architecture]]