3 ms·
> Never assume anybody is stupid. Instead, figure out how these intelligent, well-intentioned and experienced people have come to a decision which is stupid now
by sam0x17 8y ago
> Never assume anybody is stupid. Instead, figure out how these intelligent, well-intentioned and experienced people have come to a decision which is stupid now.
On that note, don't assume that any particular existing piece of code you find is somehow "blessed". Do assume that everyone, yourself included is a total idiot and capable of writing fallible code, and in every avenue and every respect of life, assume that there _may_ be obvious, ingenious, simple/scalable/efficient/elegant solutions that have been overlooked leaving open possibility of a better way. Never be annoying about it though.
- FabHK 8y agoBut beware of Chesterton's Fence (which is really what GP suggests - understand the history of something before attempting to reform it). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Chesterton%27s_fence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Chesterton%27s_fence
- ryandrake 8y agoI had the opposite problem when I was junior: I believed most existing code was crap because “it’s not how I would have done it” and had trouble resisting the urge to rewrite everything. Learning to live with and thrive with legacy code is a great skill.
- sam0x17 8y agoI was that way as well, but all the juniors I encounter now are the other way around.