The sibling comments are talking about performance, but there's also a conceptual disadvantage to overriding. There are two different ways to create a subclass

The sibling comments are talking about performance, but there's also a conceptual disadvantage to overriding. There are two different ways to create a subclass in OOP. Java treats the subclass and the superclass as the same object. If the subclass calls a method on itself, it may go to the superclass first. This is a valid way to do things, but it can be dangerous and confusing. Another way to create a subclass is to create two objects: the superclass and the subclass. The subclass has a reference to the superclass, but they are not the same object. If the subclass doesn't override one of the superclass's methods, then it implicitly proxies the method call to the superclass. If the superclass calls a method on itself, then it goes to itself rather than the subclass. The difference between the two approaches is whether you want your class implementation to be open to extension (monkey-patching). Allowing class inheritance (Java's approach with the virtual methods) means that subclasses can override methods you define. It can be convenient, but it can also be a foot-gun. Class composition (proxies) prevents monkey-patching by subclasses.