The Lindy Effect in Software

A post arguing that older software tools are often the safest bet somehow turned into a full-on comment-section cage match. The basic idea is simple: if something has survived for years, it’s probably more dependable than the shiny new thing everyone is hyping this week. The author points to old favorites like C, Java, and SQL — basically the digital equivalent of jeans, white shirts, and that one kitchen pan your family refuses to throw out.

But the community was not content to nod politely. One of the biggest hot takes came from a commenter declaring that Rust is the new Java, not Go, instantly dragging two fan bases into the ring. Translation for non-coders: people are arguing over which programming language is becoming the new boring-but-everywhere corporate choice. Others were less interested in the philosophy and more interested in the post’s... let’s say adventurous writing quality. One commenter mockingly pasted a mangled sentence back into the thread like it was evidence in a courtroom drama.

And then came the drive-by comedy. “Two words: Visual Basic,” one person wrote, detonating a nostalgia bomb and a warning siren at the same time. Another joked, “hopefully the post lasts another 100 years!” which is about as close to a polite internet eye-roll as you can get. Under the snark, though, one smart counterpoint stood out: maybe it’s not old languages themselves that survive, but the rules, standards, and shared systems behind them. So yes, the article said “play it safe” — but the comments turned it into a referendum on hype, legacy, and whether “boring” is actually the smartest move in tech.