Opinions: Just the Facts, 11 Years Later

Still no opinions. Mostly.

Opinions: Just the Facts, 11 Years Later

A decade ago, I wrote a blog post declaring my distaste for opinions. I preferred facts. I had only three opinions:

1. I don’t like opinions.
2. XSLT is a terrible programming language.
3. Redefinable syntax like operation overloading and macros is evil.

That post still holds up fairly well, but let’s revisit it with 11 years of hindsight. Have I softened? Have I embraced the messy subjectivity of the human condition? No. But I have refined my stance.

The Problem with Opinions

One of the things I originally hated about opinions was the expectation that everyone must have one on every topic. This still frustrates me. Not everything requires my input.

• “What do you think of the new MacBook?” – It runs software. That’s its job.
• “What’s your take on [current geopolitical crisis]?” – I’m not a historian. My uninformed opinion is irrelevant.
• “Do you like this blouse?” – It’s red. You look fine. But you’d look fine in any color.

I still reject the idea that opinions should be formed without knowledge, and I still prefer to engage in conversations where evidence and reasoning drive conclusions.

But… Some Opinions Are Useful

In 11 years, I’ve realized that some opinions are not just tolerable but necessary. In particular:

1. Opinions as decision accelerators. Sometimes, an opinion isn’t about being objectively correct—it’s about moving forward. If every architectural decision required unanimous factual consensus, nothing would ever ship.
2. Opinions as heuristics. We can’t test everything ourselves. Some opinions are shortcuts based on pattern recognition and experience.
3. Opinions as cultural markers. They define what matters in a team, a company, a language community. “We value explicit over implicit” is an opinion, and that’s okay.

The Facts Still Win

But at the end of the day, opinions are not a substitute for facts. We should challenge them, update them, and discard them when they no longer serve us. If an opinion can’t withstand scrutiny, it was never worth having in the first place.

And yes, I still think XSLT is a terrible programming language, and that redefinable syntax is evil. Some opinions stand the test of time.