Why there is no perfect email application

I have written this thought after listening to the [Golden Cortex episode][cortex-golden], however I forgot to remove the draft tag on it so it was never published. The latest [episode on Triggers and email][cortex-triggers] had made me re-discover it.

There is no perfect e-mail application because everybody has a different definition of perfection. Bland as it might seem, this is what makes it not viable to make an application that would be considered even remotely good by everyone.

Problems such as note taking or shopping list making are simple. Even with large competition, you can take the risk and develop an application that will work in some novel way. However, e-mail is complicated, which means that the application would have to be complex. It would be costly to develop and thus would have to be expensive, reducing the pool of potential clients.

Complex problem will only have good enough1 solutions because making a perfect solution would not be economically viable.


  1. It is important to note that perfection is not additive. If your application has every feature under the sun it means it will be less than desirable to many. [cortex-golden]: https://itunes.apple.com/fr/podcast/cortex-50-golden-anniversary/id1001591696?i=1000385024209&l=en&mt=2&at=1010lIXq [cortex-triggers]: https://itunes.apple.com/fr/podcast/cortex-66-triggers-creating-behaviour-that-lasts/id1001591696?i=1000406937726&l=en&mt=2&at=1010lIXq ↩︎