Every field has cruft. Part of gaining experience in a field is not only learning how to do things, but also learning how to navigate the field and differentiat

Every field has cruft. Part of gaining experience in a field is not only learning how to do things, but also learning how to navigate the field and differentiate the cruft from that which is of value. > Even for seasoned programmers starting web dev is harder than it needs to be. Maybe, but is it harder than it "can be", or is it significantly different to other fields in this respect. I don't believe so. If you think the extra layers of unnecessary complexity noone needs is either (a) unique to web dev or (b) easily removable, then I think you may have a slightly naïve perspective on humans & society in general. A perfectly organised and navigable field is pretty utopic.