Principle
The point of abstraction is judgment
Abstractions exist so the next decision can be made more clearly, not so the previous one can be reused.
- 2025
The most common failure of abstraction is to optimise for reuse. Reuse is sometimes a benefit, but it is not the point. The point is judgment: the next person making the next decision should be able to make it more clearly because of what was abstracted, not less clearly because of what was hidden.
If an abstraction makes the next decision harder, it has failed at its real job.
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