Code as a Peacock's Tail: Signal Theory Explains Why We Choose Complex Tools
Biologist Zahavi proved: a peacock grows its tail not for survival, but to show "I'm so cool that I can afford this useless burden." Programmers do the same. Vim, Rust for CRUD, Kubernetes for a blog with 30 visitors - this is not engineering, it's costly signaling to one's tribe. I'm analyzing the mechanics of IT snobbery through evolutionary biology.