People often speak highly of the invention of double entry book keeping. But to me it looks like a half-useful idea that ended up creating a bunch of phantom ac

People often speak highly of the invention of double entry book keeping. But to me it looks like a half-useful idea that ended up creating a bunch of phantom account categories, just to have somewhere to put many of those second entries. Then it's made even worse because those made up categories get set in stone by tax law and reporting requirements, as if that accidental complexity is the only way to account for things. Personally I downplay the concept of depreciation as much as I'm able. I don't analyze purchases in terms of cost depletion over some imagined life, expecting virtual savings/profit in the first year. Rather I think in terms of number of years/uses that will be required to break even on the initial purchase, after which it's all a bonus (and/or the new normal). Having standard accounting customs probably makes more sense as you get further into the business world, with less unilateral decision making plus the general need for standardization. But it's not like overabstracted/overleveraged businesses have great societal effects either.