I often understand code based by refactoring things. And then I throw it all away. I use it as a way to play with the codebase and understand the rationale be

I often understand code based by refactoring things. And then I throw it all away. I use it as a way to play with the codebase and understand the rationale behind its design and organization. Sometimes other people do that too, they just need some guidance that it’s okay to do that and then throw it away. The important artifact you’ve created is a deep understanding of the codebase.