Sweep away everything old and make it new...

The trouble is, the urge to destruction is a racial instinct, (...) It's instinctive in each new generation, as it becomes conscious of time, to want to sweep away everything old and make everything new. It's instinct in them to feel that all the past went wrong; and now they're going to start the race on the right path from then on.

But the circularity of destruction traps everyone who does that; and they end up blamed, along with the rest of all history.

From Gordon R. Dickson's "Chantry Guild".

It's a nice quote to keep in mind when you next have to decide whether to rewrite or refactor code. And also when you hear about something stupid done in history, and you are about to call the people who did this idiots.

Reader Comments: (RSS Feed)

No comments yet

Or E-Mail Uli privately.