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> Worst of all, these products exist in a marketplace where cynicism reigns: "Why did you build that? We already have three hundred of those. Quit reinventing

> Worst of all, these products exist in a marketplace where cynicism reigns: "Why did you build that? We already have three hundred of those. Quit reinventing the wheel!" I've been sitting on a bit of rhetoric in case that comes up, though I've been blessed not to need it. Regardless, let me share the rhetoric -- just in case someone finds use for it: "Put bicycle wheels on a cement truck. Put airplane wheels on a skateboard. Put train wheels on a wheelbarrow. The metaphor about reinventing the wheel doesn't go very far -- because the wheel has been reinvented many times, and thank god for that. I like having trains and planes and bicycles and trucks and skateboards and wheelbarrows. The world would be poorer if they all used the same wheel."

redblacktree 9y ago
Worse, people frequently put truck wheels on wheelbarrows because they're the new hot thing. Edit: Thanks for sharing. I will use this some day.
Clubber 9y ago
Yes, I think this very thing when people try to commoditize software components by analogizing them to a wheel. It works in some places (I wouldn't want to write a custom Redis or an RDBMS) but in most places, it falls down. All the people I've heard use that analogy don't know what they're talking about when it comes to software development. I think it comes from the "Taco Bell" MBA types. They're the same people who think WordPress will put all web developers out of business. It's frustrating to see the art of software development regress so much.
- mercer 9y ago
  > I think it comes from the "Taco Bell" MBA types. They're the same people who think WordPress will put all web developers out of business. And then on the other end of the spectrum are 'programmer types' who think WordPress is never a good solution because it's shitty for their particular use case.
  - Clubber 9y ago
    Unfortunately most businesses these days rely on MBAs to make those decisions. Most MBA tracks don't even offer software development courses. They offer Accounting, Finance and Marketing, but not software development. That's funny because all of Accounting, Finance, Marketing and especially Operations run and rely on software systems, many designed and/or customized in house. It's a huge gaping hole in management knowledge in the US and it shows. http://www.hbs.edu/coursecatalog/ http://www.hbs.edu/coursecatalog/

redblacktree 9y ago

Worse, people frequently put truck wheels on wheelbarrows because they're the new hot thing. Edit: Thanks for sharing. I will use this some day.

Clubber 9y ago

Yes, I think this very thing when people try to commoditize software components by analogizing them to a wheel. It works in some places (I wouldn't want to write a custom Redis or an RDBMS) but in most places, it falls down. All the people I've heard use that analogy don't know what they're talking about when it comes to software development. I think it comes from the "Taco Bell" MBA types. They're the same people who think WordPress will put all web developers out of business. It's frustrating to see the art of software development regress so much.

mercer 9y ago
> I think it comes from the "Taco Bell" MBA types. They're the same people who think WordPress will put all web developers out of business. And then on the other end of the spectrum are 'programmer types' who think WordPress is never a good solution because it's shitty for their particular use case.
- Clubber 9y ago
  Unfortunately most businesses these days rely on MBAs to make those decisions. Most MBA tracks don't even offer software development courses. They offer Accounting, Finance and Marketing, but not software development. That's funny because all of Accounting, Finance, Marketing and especially Operations run and rely on software systems, many designed and/or customized in house. It's a huge gaping hole in management knowledge in the US and it shows. http://www.hbs.edu/coursecatalog/ http://www.hbs.edu/coursecatalog/