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> Not all abstractions are created equal. I'd go so far as to extend the statistics aphorism about models to software abstractions: all abstractions are wrong

> Not all abstractions are created equal. I'd go so far as to extend the statistics aphorism about models to software abstractions: all abstractions are wrong (/leaky?), but some are useful for now. The problem with software abstractions is that they, unlike the fundamental laws of physics, model code organization and business logic that frequently changes. These changes often make no sense beyond "VP lifer thought it was a good idea" so our house of cards is built on ever shifting sands. No abstraction short of a pointer can survive that.

LAC-Tech 4y ago
No I get that all abstractions leak on some level. But some leak a lot more than others. And as an industry we don't seem to have good mental models or languages around that. More than once I've seen using the abstraction + working around the leaks being more complex than just using the the thing underneath the abstraction. I have no pithy phrase to describe that scenario, without the "why don't we just code in binary" retort.