[acmegeek]

When it comes to "conventional" wisdom, I think there's simply a confusion between methods and principles. Am sure many here have heard the quote by Harrington Emerson[0] that roughly goes:

   "Methods are many, but principles are few. Methods always change. Principles never do."

So I think that many things, like DRY and KISS, are really simply principles that were distilled after many attempted much and learned a lot. Things go sideways quickly when these are mistaken for methods.

Whenever some rule or method doesn't really seem to fit, I wonder if this is really more of a principle to help guide me to the most contextually appropriate method.

So, don't necessarily throw out DRY and similar, just treat them as guiding principles that will absolutely make sense in the right situations.

The above quote is the most commonly known form, and is often misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here is the full original quote: [1]

    "As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble."

[0] https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harrington_Emerson

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/346365-as-to-methods-there-...