Invented elsewhere syndrome

April 10, 2008 | 0 Minute Read
This post was originally posted on my old blog.

Is there something like the opposite of the "not invented here syndrome"? If there is, I think I am suffering from it...

Each time somebody shows me some code that looks slightly frameworkish, a home-brewn solution that looks toolish or a self-made process-assistance, I start thinking "you should not have to do this ... there must be an existing solution for this ... you must not do this if somebody else already solved this ..."

And I compulsively start investigating and digging on the net looking for existing solutions and trying to understand them ... evaluating different alternatives ... trying to find the optimum ... spending a lot of time and energy, while not doing anything productive.

I think I have to find a better balance between this "invented elsewhere syndrome" and plain pragmatism!