Residues: Time, Change and Uncertainty in Software Architecture [video]

A new GOTO Copenhagen 2025 talk by Barry O’Reilly promises a big idea: “Residuality theory” as a cleaner way to design software in a world of time, change, and uncertainty. The pitch? It’s an alternative to the “vague” ways people use OOP (object‑oriented programming), SOA (service‑oriented architecture), and microservices. The crowd reaction? Pure chaos. One viewer bluntly wrote, “I have no idea how to write software like this,” then called the whole thing “fake mathy precision.” Another latched onto the slide that says “Produce a naïve architecture” and turned it into a meme: “Step 1: be naïve, Step 2: profit.”

Fans argue the talk is trying to give teams language for change, not just vibes. Skeptics say inventing new words won’t fix real-world messiness. The comment section devolved into jokes about “residuals” being leftovers, galaxy‑brain charts, and “is this a math cult?” Meanwhile, a link to the friendlier “software architecture is communication” talk got dropped in as a counterpoint, with some saying talking beats theorizing. With only 1.8K views so far, the debate feels niche but spicy: are we getting a smarter way to build, or just another buzzword stack? Watch the video and pick a side.