There is definitely something to this. Literate programming, or something like it, really does come close to hitting the nail on the head. It should be more pro

There is definitely something to this. Literate programming, or something like it, really does come close to hitting the nail on the head. It should be more prominent. Why isn't it? Well, I think that certain humans are better than others at inferring and "globbing onto" the abstract theories held in other people's heads. Those who are good at it become great software developers. And we take pride in our ability to do this "grokking" without any hand-holding or "crutches." From that viewpoint, literate programming and other things that would address the problem look like "crutches" for "sissies." And maybe it is more efficient to find the people who can "grok" than it is to try to articulate the theory and keep that articulation up-to-date.