"It is always better to not have a problem than to mitigate it", from this article that John Carmack wrote several years back[1]. In the context of the article it feels almost like a throwaway line, but I've found it to be deeply profound and it has since affected how I choose potential solutions in almost any situation. Should I do the "quick fix" (mitigating a problem), or would it be better if the problem _didn't exist in the first place_?

[1]: https://www.wired.com/2013/02/john-carmacks-latency-mitigati...