A Guidance Anti-Pattern
Be suspicious of guidance that spends a large proportion of time addressing concerns of structure and organization, compared to what it spends discussing how to solve problems and make decisions.
Structure, organization, and naming are all shallow concerns that are easy to grasp onto and remember. They are easy to pass on. It is easy to attribute success to them through a very rational, but shallow analysis. And because they are easy, they get the focus and attention, while the kernel of wisdom that inspired the guidance is obscured, languishes, or is forgotten.
In my experience, guidance that focuses on shallow trappings like structure, organization, and naming tends to be the result of shallow thinking, and worse, tends to encourage shallow thinking. It espouses ideals that are theoretically beneficial. Often it will describe what it protects you from, but usually it offers scant evidence of how it helps you solve problems. And it might just make you feel like you're doing it wrong if you feel constrained by it.
Instead, prefer guidance that shows you how to think, rather than how to constrain your options. Prefer guidance that walks you through how to solve a problem, and shows you why thinking about a particular set of things will help lead you to a clean solution. And hold dear guidance that openly admits when it doesn't apply, and tells you why.
To say this all more elegantly:
Structure, organization, and naming are all shallow concerns that are easy to grasp onto and remember. They are easy to pass on. It is easy to attribute success to them through a very rational, but shallow analysis. And because they are easy, they get the focus and attention, while the kernel of wisdom that inspired the guidance is obscured, languishes, or is forgotten.
In my experience, guidance that focuses on shallow trappings like structure, organization, and naming tends to be the result of shallow thinking, and worse, tends to encourage shallow thinking. It espouses ideals that are theoretically beneficial. Often it will describe what it protects you from, but usually it offers scant evidence of how it helps you solve problems. And it might just make you feel like you're doing it wrong if you feel constrained by it.
Instead, prefer guidance that shows you how to think, rather than how to constrain your options. Prefer guidance that walks you through how to solve a problem, and shows you why thinking about a particular set of things will help lead you to a clean solution. And hold dear guidance that openly admits when it doesn't apply, and tells you why.
To say this all more elegantly:
Don't seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought.
-- Matsuo Basho