There's also chesterton fence - maybe this dumb thing in code actually was important some time ago. Or, even worse, maybe it is still an important for a rare edge case and you just don't see how, yet.
Always, always assume this is the case - it might frustrate you to no end, but until you have conclusive evidence something is "wrong", it's best to ignore it and toodle along with whatever you're supposed to be working on (I always encounter these head scratchers when working on legacy code, my tasking being something unrelated).
The first character wishes to remove the fence because they don't see a good reason for it. The second takes a different approach: first show that it isn't necessary, then remove it.
Plenty of things are made useless over time. But there are also lots of things that look useless but aren't. We don't know, a priori, which is which, hence the need to be cautious.
(That said, I think there are also cases where ignoring Chesterton, removing the fence, and seeing what will happen is the best option. It just requires good planning and good testing so that you can be confident that a bull doesn't suddenly appear out of nowhere!)