Thread by @tottinge

If all software practices are utter bs (none have any real effect) then people should work however they are comfortable and happy.

If, however, practices have an impact on results, then everyone should learn to work in a way that gives the best results in their context.

Potentially heretical thought of the day: It's possible that feeling comfortable and natural in the way one works might not be all that important.

I'm told by surgeons that microsurgery is uncomfortable to perform and hard to learn, but it results in better patient recovery.

One described it as "an unnatural act" even.
BUT IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

A friend makes high-end cabinetry ... beautiful stuff. The chemicals and procedures are hard on his hands. Sometimes his hands dry and crack. It's uncomfortable, too, as he has to wear a respirator often. But he does this because the results are so much better.

It's tedious to look for possible drug interactions when prescribing new medicines. It takes time away that could be spent in other ways. But it's done because it has better results.

The engineering would be so much faster and easier if the circuit designers didn't have all that tedious math and twiddle with the board layouts.

And if the chip makers didn't have to wear bunny suits.

Being miserable and uncomfortable isn't better than not. But now we have to consider whether there is any real difference in doing things one way or another, and maybe "comfortable" and "fits with my natural style" are less important than developing a skill is more important.