[Nemi]

A more charitable interpretation was that this person had a massive attack of cognitive dissonance when you told them what you found and was not able to reconcile it.

They convinced themselves that “their” solution was actually a better fit/safer/more performant/etc and justified in the expense and effort. And it may have been, in all honesty. But likely not enough better to justify the time and expense.

The empathetic view is that we all suffer from this delusion, but some of us are better and recognizing it and circumventing it than others. Part of it is age/maturity/experience. Part of it is innate.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not excusing this behavior. I abhor it as much as you clearly do. But sometimes it can help with dealing with these types of people to reframe it as less malicious and more incompetence.