Of course it's not an answer - just asking "why" gets you turtles all the way down, and "stop after five steps" may halt you with a stack that's too shallow; as

Of course it's not an answer - just asking "why" gets you turtles all the way down, and "stop after five steps" may halt you with a stack that's too shallow; as you say, it's a rule of thumb. And now we're finally getting somewhere :) Cynicism can be a tool, a catalyst - "these are all the things that are unfixable, because Eeeeverything Sucks" is a good set for asking "are they all, really? Are there those that are only hard to fix, and which of them are worth fixing?" As you say, it's rare that there's a single, clear-cut answer for an issue, especially when it's not purely technical one. I didn't intend my reply as a rant, and surely didn't intend it to mean "everything is broken, get out of here" as a solution.