> "modern" is a thought smell

Sometimes it's a thought smell, but sometimes it's shorthand for "has learned the lessons of recent history", which is indeed valuable.

"Code smell" isn't an automatic "something is definitely wrong," it's an indication that maybe something is wrong.

By analogy, "modern" might indeed sometimes mean "has learned the lessons of recent history."

One can even sometimes test this by asking people what they mean by "modern."

My experience is that they usually don't know, or have a conception uncomfortably close to "it was released more recently" or "it's more like what everybody does right now," which are both certainly worth observing... but stopping there is where the thinking becomes distinctly less so.

The trouble is when it's shorthand for "forgotten the lessons of ancient history"

or worse, forgotten the lessons of recent history

Sorry, what is a "thought smell?"

Not familiar with the term and can't find it elsewhere.

It's an idiom.

"this smells off" -> nonspecific indication that something might be wrong "code smell" -> nonspecific indication that something might be wrong with software code "thought smell" -> nonspecific indication that something might be wrong with a way of thinking

There are some words used for pejorative purposes that I think the language can do without but I think wanting to get rid of modern (and hence the concepts it embodies) seems more an indicator of something wrong than just using it.