[fridek]

My theory is that, as an industry, we have almost completely lost (or maybe dilluted?) the ability to architect complex systems. Everything is 90% third-party libraries and microservices duct-taped together without much thought. Virtually every project I joined was missing an overarching design document. Where it existed, it was usually not updated in the entire lifespan of a system. Asks to estabilish a domain or a versioned API boundary around something particularly gnarly are usually met with blank stares or violent opposition.

It's weird because I'm not even that old, and this kind of planning or refactoring was definitely a part of the curriculum at my definitely-not-Ivy-League uni.

[marginalia_nu]

There seems to be almost like a fear of original thought in some shops. It is humility but taken to the absurd. It's one thing to admit you may be wrong, it's another entirely to refuse to consider the idea you might be able to do something correctly.

Even though NIH is a pretty toxic attitude, the opposite can be as well. You don't have to stray that far past hello world CRUD apps to find an areas where the available libraries are poorly suited, and the superior option is to roll something on your own.