[parasubvert]

But, what tech innovation DIDN’T start as something with limited applicability? The only way to know is to discuss the benefits and tradeoffs in something approaching social science.

But humans struggle with rigor, it’s much easier to brand and market something, or to buy in to brands. So “ideas” like microservices become brands. And they’re misunderstood and misapplied because people don’t read the copious literature that discusses the tradeoffs and variations. And they don’t practice it as a discipline with someone that has mastered the technique successfully: they do it blind.

Same goes for TDD or other XP practices that are often deride as cultish. being a discipline is even harder to adopt than a design philosophy like microservices. Disciplines are about consistent behaviour. To an outsider, it’s freaky. But calling it cultish as some do is like saying Karate or another martial art is a cult. From the outside it kind of looks like it, but discipline or kata (practice of form) is known to be a success multiplier for the sustained successful application of practices.

If you don’t have a dojo or a sensei, could you teach yourself such a set of martial arts to mastery? If not, why do we expect everyone to pick up TDD after reading a book?