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The problem becomes evident when you return to the results so the flow a year later to change something, and wish you were more mindful when getting things done.

Cargo cults are not good. Finding and adhering to regular patters that logically underlie what you do saves time and mental effort, while also preventing certain classes of errors. (No, these are not GoF design patterns.)

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I’m certainly not advocating spaghetti code, balls of mud, or a thoughtless lack of architecture. What I’m specifically referring to is wilful anti-pragmatism that betrays a sort of insecurity...it’s hard to define but easier to recognize.

Finding the balance between pointless over-engineering and rigidity on one hand, and good software design on the other, consistently, is what seems to distinguish great programmers I’ve worked with, from those who are “just” very good.

But, like I said, it often isn’t worth the trouble fighting about these things, even when we see them, and getting on with the job is more important than ensnaring oneself in religious debates on projects.

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