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title: 'Avoid Painkillers'
sidebar_position: 2
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![](img/onion.png)

> First principles thinking is a problem-solving method that involves breaking down a problem into its most basic parts and then rebuilding it from the ground up

# The Onion Analogy

Most cloud & internet stacks can be compared to an onion, where each layer represents an additional component or service added to address a problem in the system. However, like peeling an onion, as you dig deeper, you often find that these layers are not solving the core issues but merely masking symptoms, leading to a complex and often fragile structure.

## Quick Fixes and Additions

- **Problem:** When an issue arises, such as performance bottlenecks or security vulnerabilities, organizations often add another tool, service, or layer to the cloud stack to mitigate the issue.
- **Analogy:** This is akin to applying a bandage or taking a painkiller when you feel pain. The immediate discomfort might be alleviated, but the underlying problem remains untouched.

## Painkiller Approach: Treating Symptoms, Not Causes

This onion-like structure represents a "painkiller approach" to cloud management, where immediate issues are addressed with quick fixes rather than tackling the underlying problems. Over time, this approach leads to several challenges.

This onion-like structure represents a "painkiller approach" to cloud management, where immediate issues are addressed with quick fixes rather than tackling the underlying problems. 

Over time, this approach leads to several challenges:

- **Cyber Pandemic** The Cyber Pandemic is real, added these layers leads to weak security.
- **Increased Complexity:** Each new layer adds complexity, making the system harder to understand and maintain.
- **Higher Costs:** More layers often mean more resources, licenses, and management overhead, increasing operational costs.
- **Reduced Agility:** The more complex the stack, the harder it is to make changes or adapt to new requirements, reducing the system’s overall agility.
- **Fragility:** A stack built on temporary fixes is more prone to failures because the core issues are not resolved, making the system brittle.

### We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them


This is a famous quote by Einstein that we deeply admire.
Here are a few others that we strive to live by.

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"If I had an hour to solve a problem, I would spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions."

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"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."



