I think I can explain this. At some point in the past the interviewer has had to get to grips with OO programming. This isn’t easily for everyone, myself includ

I think I can explain this. At some point in the past the interviewer has had to get to grips with OO programming. This isn’t easily for everyone, myself included. But eventually it all clicks. And it’s a great thing. Then you start learning about design patterns. You struggle to get to grips with these, you try to memorise them, you don’t quite feel comfortable with them; but one day, it all clicks. And they are great. And you feel a massive sense of accomplishment. In software development, everything moves so fast, but the feeling that you have actually learned something that is almost timeless and will outlast languages and frameworks that come and go every week is a rare feeling. And I really feel that knowledge is priceless. Try then telling them not to bother with all that and write 3 lines of code :-D If someone has invested a lot of time trying to understand OO and design patterns like this, and had the feeling of accomplishment when it all comes together, then the are going to want to apply them where they can. I think all that stuff is invaluable knowledge but people shouldn’t fall into the trap of doing something one way just because they have invested the most time in learning how to do it that way. Also, many software professionals probably find simplicity boring. Simplicity should be taken more seriously as a goal in software development. Sigh.