Code that doesn't run is just dead bytes. It's not useful for anything. Code that does run, even if impossible to comprehend without considerable research (like

Code that doesn't run is just dead bytes. It's not useful for anything. Code that does run, even if impossible to comprehend without considerable research (like, say, DNA), is useful for something. You just cannot change its function. I have maintained code, and even wrote some terrible stuff myself. All I'm saying is that once you strip all the lofty ideas about what code should be (which are all very good ideas!), then you are left with the very simple core idea: code is supposed to run and do stuff.