I believe we are still in the alchemical age of software application design. There are glimmers of enlightenment here and there that will help the transition to chemistry, but the transition hasn't really begun. Software done well today requires genius, but this should not be, just as basic chemistry labs don't require it.

Djikstra was complaining about these alchemical methods, and rightly so. The sad and dangerous thing is how much we have built on the shaky edifice of alchemy, and how much we blame ourselves for failure, and how we pride ourselves when we master some local improvement. (Even worse, the pride of finding some new local improvement).