korrents

korrents · piece

Code for Humans and Machines

Adam Tornhill · 23 Jun 2026

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Adam Tornhill did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

  1. Our reading

    Naming in software goes beyond aesthetics because good naming minimizes reconstruction work for both humans and machines.

    Their wordsAs such, naming in software goes way beyond any aesthetics. Good naming minimizes reconstruction work. For both humans and machines.

  2. Our reading

    Names act as cognitive compression mechanisms that allow design elements to stretch the amount of information held in working memory.

    Their wordsNames are cognitive compression mechanisms. Design elements with strong names stretch the amount of information you can hold in your head at once.

  3. Our reading

    Vague and imprecise names, such as Utils, attract code of the same qualities.

    Their wordsA vague and imprecise name - like Utils - will attract code of those same qualities.

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