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Any programmer should be able to spot the syllogism here, yes. Just because something is a security best practice definitely does not guarantee that it will be

Any programmer should be able to spot the syllogism here, yes. Just because something is a security best practice definitely does not guarantee that it will be followed universally by architects. Not all the castle builders were up to speed on CVE-1271-53 “left-handed spiral staircases enable swordsman overflow attacks”, and more importantly their clients didn’t know how to evaluate a competent castle architect either. Maybe they should have had some sort of certification scheme. But even then, once a pen tester gets in and tells you your staircases were built backwards, what are you going to do? They’re made of stone and built into structural walls in a tall building.

jameshart 5y ago
In fact, one of the top rated questions on SiegeOverflow in the 1400s was Should spiral staircases always turn to the right? (1879 points. Locked. Comments on this question have been disabled) I'm a journeyman castle engineer to a FAANG house, and my master stonemason insists that spiral staircases should always turn to the right. He says they're more secure. But our accessibility team say that a left turn is preferable for carrying heavy loads up the stairs. The designer wants the staircase to have open wooden treads every fifth step. Does that negate the security concerns? Who's right? Accepted answer (4471 votes) Why are you using a spiral staircase? A straight staircase is easier to maintain. (Closed by moderator. Not siege related.)
- JackFr 5y ago
  I wish I could upvote this more
- leoc 5y ago
  'Siege overflow' is one of the standard attacks on the security of a fortification system. It often employs ladders while the related 'underflow' attacks use mines. In time, rapidly advancing technology made it feasible to simply overwhelm legacy systems with brute force attacks using gunpowder.
- rjsw 5y ago
  I suspect that FAANG armies have higher numbers of left-handed people, at my PPOE it was around 50%, this could change the argument for spiral staircase direction.

jameshart 5y ago

In fact, one of the top rated questions on SiegeOverflow in the 1400s was Should spiral staircases always turn to the right? (1879 points. Locked. Comments on this question have been disabled) I'm a journeyman castle engineer to a FAANG house, and my master stonemason insists that spiral staircases should always turn to the right. He says they're more secure. But our accessibility team say that a left turn is preferable for carrying heavy loads up the stairs. The designer wants the staircase to have open wooden treads every fifth step. Does that negate the security concerns? Who's right? Accepted answer (4471 votes) Why are you using a spiral staircase? A straight staircase is easier to maintain. (Closed by moderator. Not siege related.)

JackFr 5y ago
I wish I could upvote this more
leoc 5y ago
'Siege overflow' is one of the standard attacks on the security of a fortification system. It often employs ladders while the related 'underflow' attacks use mines. In time, rapidly advancing technology made it feasible to simply overwhelm legacy systems with brute force attacks using gunpowder.
rjsw 5y ago
I suspect that FAANG armies have higher numbers of left-handed people, at my PPOE it was around 50%, this could change the argument for spiral staircase direction.