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> "It only takes a match to burn down a forest"

This one is cool to me because (as I understand it) a healthy forest experiences multiple natural minor burn events that clear out underbrush. The resulting ash help regrowth by acting as a fertilizer.

However, when people with bad policy get involved, then these minor burn events are prevented until the underbrush accumulates to such an extent that a single match can burn down the entire forest.

The analogy to refactoring, bad development methodology, and project failure really speaks for itself.




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