I think that the analogy between Picasso's process and software refactoring is rather weak. We generally consider refactored code to be better and less crufty t

I think that the analogy between Picasso's process and software refactoring is rather weak. We generally consider refactored code to be better and less crufty than the original (one would hope!) But the refactored bull isn't necessarily "better" than the original. It's simply more abstract, and not merely more abstract in a purely functional way. The final result is still highly stylized and instantly recognizable as the work of Picasso. What might be usefully applied to programming is that in abstracting the bull to its minimalistic essence, Picasso illuminates the bull's underlying structure. Perhaps by removing code we can also get a clearer idea of the fundamental workings of a system. ;)