It's a funny aphorism at best but I don't think software would work nearly as well if there were more than a grain of truth to it. Think of all the layers of a

It's a funny aphorism at best but I don't think software would work nearly as well if there were more than a grain of truth to it. Think of all the layers of abstraction that have led to this moment, you reading this comment, me writing it: the hardware, the operating systems, libraries, run-times, the network... it's immense. And it's a wonder that it works so well let alone at all. I like this quote but I think it applies to weak abstractions; ie: not abstractions at all but, as they say, indirection and obfuscation. Using the word "abstraction" has done a lot of harm to efforts to convey the importance and utility of various formal methods from property testing to proof automation. A solid abstraction has fundamental laws and properties. It aids in mastering complexity rather than hinders.