worse is better

the idea that quality does not necessarily increase with functionality
Intangible concept Q1961443
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worse is better

Summary

worse is better is a concept[1]. It draws 259 Wikipedia views per month (concept category, ranking #185 of 912).[2]

Key Facts

  • worse is better is credited with the discovery of Richard P. Gabriel[3].
  • worse is better's instance of is recorded as concept[4].
  • worse is better's genre is recorded as essay[5].
  • worse is better's language of work or name is recorded as English[6].
  • worse is better's Freebase ID is recorded as /m/01gkwt[7].
  • worse is better's work available at URL is recorded as https://dreamsongs.com/RiseOfWorseIsBetter.html[8].
  • worse is better's work available at URL is recorded as https://www.jwz.org/doc/worse-is-better.html[9].
  • worse is better's described at URL is recorded as https://dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html[10].
  • worse is better's Quora topic ID is recorded as Worse-Is-Better[11].
  • worse is better's Microsoft Academic ID is recorded as 56669332[12].

Body

Works and Contributions

worse is better is credited with the discovery of Richard P. Gabriel[3].

Why It Matters

worse is better draws 259 Wikipedia views per month (concept category, ranking #185 of 912).[2] It has Wikipedia articles in 10 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[13] It is known by 7 alternative names across languages and contexts.[14]

It has been cited as an influence by suckless.org[15], a free software community[16], founded in 2002[17].

FAQs

Who did worse is better influence?

worse is better has been cited as an influence by suckless.org[15].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [4] . wikidata.org.
  2. [3] . wikidata.org.
  3. [5] . wikidata.org.
  4. [6] . wikidata.org.
  5. [7] . Freebase Data Dumps. wikidata.org.
  6. [8] . wikidata.org.
  7. [9] . wikidata.org.
  8. [10] . wikidata.org.
  9. [11] . Quora. wikidata.org.
  10. [12] . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [15] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [16] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [17] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [13] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [14] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). worse is better. Retrieved May 3, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/worse-is-better
MLA “worse is better.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 3 May. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/worse-is-better.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_worse-is-better_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{worse is better}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/worse-is-better}, note = {Accessed: 2026-05-03}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): worse is better — https://4ort.xyz/entity/worse-is-better (retrieved 2026-05-03)

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