"Superstition" results from any number of things. A) insufficient docs B) programmer can't be bothered to read the docs C) programmer doesn't trust the docs D)

"Superstition" results from any number of things. A) insufficient docs B) programmer can't be bothered to read the docs C) programmer doesn't trust the docs D) programmer had a bug once, blames the underlying library, not his code E) programmer had a bug, changes code, bug goes away, jumps to conclusion. Trust in the docs is a big thing. If the docs are wrong a lot the the programmer is skeptical even when they're right. But I've also noticed that most developers simply don't read them. "I'm too busy (fixing bugs) to read the docs." Or "my backlog is so long I don't have time to learn how to do it right, I just want it done fast " Superstition occurs with the absence of knowledge - the existence of docs is necessary, but not sufficient, in overcoming that absence.