For every time that I've investigated strange code only to find out they had valid reasons for writing it that way, I've also found just as many situations wher

For every time that I've investigated strange code only to find out they had valid reasons for writing it that way, I've also found just as many situations where I'm glad I investigated and was therefore able to turn a horribly over-complex routine into something way simpler and obvious. Maybe the ratio isn't one to one, but please, please don't just give up second-guessing ugly code.