Well, returning to the OP, selling a call short does not automatically mean you lose money. It's just that once in a while you are exposed to losses that far ou

Well, returning to the OP, selling a call short does not automatically mean you lose money. It's just that once in a while you are exposed to losses that far outweigh the price of the call. So perhaps the Dick and Jane example is one where you are ahead of the game by leaving the code as is and only refactoring it later when needed. It does take real skill to forecast what is needed and what isn't, we 100% agree on that :-)