This 1000 times. The reason SQL (really - relational algebra) works so well is precisely because relational data is strongly normalized [1]. But the data is o

This 1000 times. The reason SQL (really - relational algebra) works so well is precisely because relational data is strongly normalized [1]. But the data is only a model of reality, not reality itself. And when your immutable model of reality needs to be updated strong normalisation is a curse, not a blessing. The data structure is the code structure in a strongly-typed system[2] Strong normalisation makes change very expensive. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalization_property_(abstract_rewriting) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalization_property_(abstra... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_as_data https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_as_data