Buddy, I tie a lot, not for a living, but for my own use. I like to fish, but I like to fish more with flies I've tied. The simpler the better, thus I don't use a lot of different patterns, just ones that work. This doesn't mean I don't try some of the patterns that call for more steps, but I try to avoid them. The only exception is when tying flies for use on my favorite spring creek. Those fish have a looooong time to look at my imitation in that extrememly slow-moving and gin clear water, so I have found that careful imitation of the natural makes a huge difference, but they sure seem to take a lot longer to tie - the reward though is worth the extra effort. So, I have to gauge my tying to my expected results, but a good old reliable Gold-ribbed Hare's-ear or Sawyers Pheasant-tail still catches a lot of fish for me.
The evolution of tying seems to be a result of numerous tyers striving for something a bit different based on a tried-and-true pattern, thus adding steps to something that seemed to work just fine in the first place. One of the simplest flies I've tied and used is a thread midge that I first learned about in preparation for a trip to the San Juan River, and very similar to John Scott's t.c.t.k thread midge. I couldn't believe I could catch a fish on such a simple pattern, until I did.
The artist in me wants to always make my contribution to something that has come up through time, but the fisherman in me just wants something that will catch fish, consistently without a lot of work to create.
I'll keep on trying to improve upon perfection, but I want my quality time to be on the water trying to crack the code of that day with whatever creation is in my box.
Thanks for the chance to think about this idea and to verbalize a little about how I feel about it. Keep 'em coming.

Kelly.