> Now, I rarely ever read online documentation. The code is the ground truth, and additional context can be gleaned from reading the version control system logs

> Now, I rarely ever read online documentation. The code is the ground truth, and additional context can be gleaned from reading the version control system logs for the file. I try to read much more functions in their entirety before using them. When I have a question about some functionality, I try to read the code before asking the original developers for help. I agree to an extent, but to me this quote also says something about the type and quality of the libraries that he has ended up interacting with. I invite him to use the same technique on the plurality of academic code (version control logs? hah! context? hah! functions??? hah!). Most academic codebases one inherits are typically 'cram everything in one file, no functions, obscure comments, no variable names other than letters of the alphabet, huge sections of commented out code, and the only documentation is the accompanying research paper'. Not to mention, half of that is typically higher level wraps around obscure 80's fortran code that is worshipped with reverence and largely treated as a magical black box that should not be tampered with. Confirm something in the source, you say? Guaranteed yak shaving for days!