Too many best practices in software engineering are followed to improve developers experience rather than the quality of the end result.
Too many best practices in software engineering have no empirical basis.
The wise programmer is told about Tao and follows it. The average programmer is told about Tao and searches for it. The foolish programmer is told about Tao and laughs at it.
If it were not for laughter, there would be no Tao.
The highest sounds are hardest to hear. Going forward is a way to retreat. Great talent shows itself late in life. Even a perfect program still has bugs.
> Too many best practices in software engineering are followed to improve developers experience rather than the quality of the end result.
Thus spake the Master Programmer: "Though a program be but three lines long, someday it will have to be maintained."
> Too many best practices in software engineering have no empirical basis.
Thus spake the Master Programmer: "When you have learned to snatch the error code from the trap frame, it will be time for you to leave."
It's tongue in cheek (sort of), but if you consider each reply, they all address the quote directly above. It's not random.
Complaining about best practice, however, is itself a best practice.
Most places I've ever worked have made automated testing impossible but then gone ahead and made up for it by just never testing anything and then blaming the programmers when bugs show up in production.