The Empty Box

High school theater taught me about "The Black Box"—a simple yet powerful concept. Any space can become a stage, a blank canvas brought to life by storytelling. This resonated with me: the ability to create any reality, tell any story, within the confines of a simple, curtained room.

Consider a highly polished movie; it seems daunting to replicate. The scripts, actors, production, animation—it's overwhelming. But through the Black Box lens, we see the core: the story. Even Thor: Ragnarok, with its impressive special effects, boils down to relatable themes: sibling rivalry, escaping challenging situations—universal experiences. The special effects are embellishments, not the essence of the narrative.

This leads to a crucial question: how do we bridge the gap between a bare-bones concept and a large-scale production? Or, in the context of web development: how do we build a website or app from a simple idea? The sheer scale of existing websites can be intimidating.

Apps as Empty Boxes

In programming, let's replace "black box" with "empty box," a clean slate akin to the "tabula rasa" in art. Apps like Notion, Airbnb, or Etsy might seem impossible to replicate from basic CRUD operations. But what if we start with the core use case, the problem being solved? We define what we create within this limited space.

This approach narrows the scope. While users engage in diverse ways, the core purpose remains. Large companies often have conflicting priorities, leading to ambiguous goals. Complex apps serve many needs, but clarity on the core purpose is vital, especially when starting.

You have an empty box. What will you build? Consider the potential for global interaction. What interaction will you create, and what message will it convey? What will make it relatable?

Forget the potential complexity. Focus on the core purpose. What excites you most? What problem are you solving?

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