Re^3: Z-Rated Code and Reinventing the Wheel

[apotheon]

I agree. I also agree with the person to whom you replied.

The problem with a metaphorical statement of principle like "don't reinvent the wheel" is that it then allows infintely variable refinements to produce analogies to demonstrate related principles. For purposes of demonstrating that one should violate the rule about reinventing wheels when the previous wheel is not sufficiently functional, the previous comment was apt and effective. For purposes of demonstrating realities made more obvious and prevalent with the increasing awareness of open source software development methodologies, your comment is more apt and effective.

The benefit of metaphorical statements of principles like "don't reinvent the wheel" is two-fold: both that it gets the point across quickly, clearly, and profoundly, and that it does everything I just described as a problem above. Sometimes it's a problem, and sometimes it's a benefit, but usually it's both.