I just read the post that inspired this post: http://programmers.blogoverflow.com/2012/08/20-controversial-programming-opinions/ http://programmers.blogoverflow

I just read the post that inspired this post: http://programmers.blogoverflow.com/2012/08/20-controversial-programming-opinions/ http://programmers.blogoverflow.com/2012/08/20-controversial.... While a lot of these opinions sound reasonable, I want to know if they're actually true. All of these statements are expert opinions, but it's unclear how many of them are backed by research. Without controlled studies, experts can easily believe incorrect things. If you hold an opinion, look at the evidence backing it up. If it's not strong, reduce your confidence. Or even better: Gather evidence, then form your opinion. And remember: Anecdotes don't count. I wish more of my colleagues would do this, but it seems most of them haven't heard of very many software-related studies. If you want to learn more, I recommend http://www.neverworkintheory.org/ http://www.neverworkintheory.org/ as a starting point. After reading some papers, you'll be surprised how limited our evidence-based knowledge is. Looking at software engineering studies made me realize that I'm not allowed to poke fun at psychology anymore. Even that field is more evidence-based than ours.