Weekly Reflection #32 - Fear is a Diagnostic Signal
Each week, I share one insight. One piece of wisdom. One question to reflect on. (and a little Lagniappe)
Insight
This week on Book Overflow, Pramod Sadalage came on to reflect on Software Architecture: The Hard Parts. He co-wrote it, along with Building Evolutionary Architectures, the book behind Weekly Reflection #19 - Design for Evolution. In our most recent interview, he described a SQL Server database with 287,000 tables. Nobody wanted to touch it, because any change might break something no one knew was connected. Pramod treats that fear as a measurement. It marks where the coupling is hidden. So he goes looking for it. He instruments the system to see what talks to what, adds indirection, and replaces direct access with real boundaries. Once the dependencies are visible, the system can change again.
The same holds outside of code. The part of your work or life you are most afraid to change often has the most hidden coupling. Fear is a diagnostic signal. Follow it.
Wisdom
Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.
Alan Watts, The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
Reflection
What are you afraid to touch, and what is that fear trying to show you?
Lagniappe
- This week on Book Overflow, Pramod Sadalage joined us to reflect on Software Architecture: The Hard Parts. He's such a wealth of knowledge on the tradeoffs and complexities of designing systems with data.
- I've been exploring Penrose tilings, patterns that never repeat. I built a small interactive one you can try: Penrose Tiles.
- As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Reply and let me know what resonates.