When I try to explain this to non-programmers I often use this metaphor: Imagine that you enjoy mountain climbing, but the act of climbing the mountain causes

When I try to explain this to non-programmers I often use this metaphor: Imagine that you enjoy mountain climbing, but the act of climbing the mountain causes more mountain to rise above you. That's what we see in software development: a runaway process of elaboration and ever-increasing complexity and levels of abstraction.