“Reasoning about” considered harmful

Brook Monroe
Sep 6, 2018 · 1 min read

I just read another programming article with the BS phrase “reason about” in it.

Can we please find the the first academic to use the phrase “reason about” and ask him or her to recant and repudiate it? Back in the 1970s we used to just “think about” things. We seemed to do okay.

“Reason about” is just effing pretentious, and we get enough of that already. We don’t sound smarter using it — and we’re not smarter for using it.

If you wish to debate me on this, be forewarned that I’m not going to be…reasonable.