I think in this case, the author means coding version logic into the app itself. eg. versioned API endpoints for backwards compatibility
> Back in 2015 I was suspicious of abstractions and big on tests and version control. Code seemed awash in bad abstractions, while tests and versions seemed like the key advances of the 2000s.
> In effect I stopped thinking about version control. Giving up tests and versions, I ended up with a much better program.
> Version control kept me attached to the past. Both were counter-productive. It took a major reorientation to let go of them.
You don't have to look at the history to use other features of version control. Typically everything is moving forwards in a repository.