[Self] Evolution in Code

"We have shellfish DNA in our DNA."

That was the thought that glazed past as I was listening to a french hacker and Mel (small world) go through their Pen Test findings in my current project last week - I think it was the part where they found some junk code from the existing base that was not used anymore that triggered that interesting fact in some BBC documentary I saw some years ago.

Holding on the thought of inheriting shellfish junk-DNA, it's interesting how our this in turn could be used in a dichotomic sense:
A) The atheistic & scientific - we are just layers of atoms baby, no more no less!
B) A supreme being does exist - intelligent design is proof of life on earth and the beyond.

I'd love to crack some sanctimonious references to Goddy, deities, and hobbits... but won't now. Ever wondered about how humanity tries to replicate itself through its creations? It is expressed in a variety of rather enriching ways. And back to what I slog to everyday and call work - I find that coding and systems development as a concrete example of how we as a species do project our own image into what we collectively create.

Geek example: A system with a base (B1) is eventually implemented across other projects that lead to other bases with different flavors (B2, B3 ...), or may add on several cores that make it different from its original family (C1).

Interesting enough, come to usage of C1, there could be modules in B1 which exist in C1 but are never used again. And there you go ~ shellfish code in our DNA is B1 and as we climbed up the evolution tree it just got embedded deeper and deeper.

So if Goddy does exist, he was a bit of an undisciplined programmer who didn't bother with too much documentation or give much thought to long term design needs. In the meantime, I gotta talk to my tech lead about cleaning up some junk code tomorrow.