As the title suggests, a Book Insight is an idea taken from a book that leads us to reflect on the subject matter. The insight extracted can add value to the reader's life in some way, even if it's just to make them reflect briefly. In the book "Pragmatic Programmer," although the content is geared towards programmers, the examples and context presented are useful for anyone. A major distinguishing feature of this book is that each section is independent and offers new knowledge.
The section we will analyze in more depth is called "Software Entropy," in which authors Andrew Hunt and David Thomas address the concept of Entropy and, in this context, discuss the Broken Windows Theory, which makes perfect sense and can help you to "Not Tolerate Broken Windows"!
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Entropy vs. Broken Windows
The first concept presented is a concept from physics, known as Entropy, which refers to the disorder of a system, and which, according to the laws of thermodynamics, guarantees that disorder in the universe tends towards a maximum value. The physics concept is transposed to software development in the book, with the authors stating that the same occurs in software, but the insight is that the same occurs in life in general.
The reason why entropy affects our lives comes from the Broken Windows Theory. This theory states that signs of disorder, such as vandalism, litter, or even a "broken window," end up encouraging more serious behaviors, escalating deterioration. One experiment was conducted with an abandoned car in good condition. For a week, the car remained untouched, but when the car was damaged, for example, by having one of its "windows broken," it was destroyed much faster.
The insight drawn from this theory is that a broken window, left unrepaired – windows are mentioned quite a bit in the book, but understand general care – makes people around feel that the property, the car, the place, the item, has been abandoned and they stop caring. This theory points to the importance of solving smaller problems in order to avoid larger problems that may end up happening due to the cascading effect.
Pay attention to Broken Windows!
Entropy, as a law that states the tendency is always towards disorder, makes it necessary to ALWAYS look for the "Broken Windows" in your life. Examine your surroundings, see if there is a broken window and look for solutions to solve the problems presented. If the tendency is towards disorder, you need to fix the problems to at least stabilize this equation.
Therefore, the tip presented in this section is precisely "Don't Tolerate Broken Windows"! As soon as you identify a broken window – a project that isn't going as you imagined, a wrong decision, a defect, an oversight – immediately seek to repair it. Another tip is that if you don't have time to think of a solution, to find a way forward, you can "board up the window." All this to prevent Entropy from continuing to act on the window and, after a period of inattention and lack of dedication, the broken window from spreading and causing even greater damage.
It would be interesting if there were a tool to detect the "Broken Windows" in life, but since I don't know of any such tool, the best way is to take some time to review various areas and look for small problems in a project, activity, or other things, grab the tools and fix them as quickly as possible. And if that's not possible, make sure that this window doesn't cause general problems.
