The Eye of the Beholder

A monk of the Laughing Monkey Clan found master Banzen humming before his whiteboard with an uncharacteristically happy expression on his face. Intrigued by this, the monk hid behind a large potted plant to investigate.

As the monk watched, Banzen filled his whiteboard with a class diagram of hideous complexity. The master then took a step back to consider his work.

“Beautiful!” said Banzen.

He then erased the entire board.

The master did this several more times. His design grew increasingly convoluted, yet with each iteration Banzen would make the same proclamation and then completely destroy his work, humming happily to himself.

The monk sought out Banzen’s pupil Djishin. “What is your master doing?” the monk asked.

“Implementing the business rules for a new application,” said Djishin.

The monk hesitated, then whispered, “His design is surprisingly ugly.”

Djishin whispered back, “The business rules are surprisingly ugly.”

The monk threw up his hands. “Then why does he dance about like a schoolboy in love, and call these things ‘beautiful’?”

Djishin laughed. “Not the design, not the rules. The challenge.”