Some things I've learnt about programming
Programming may be a craft, but researchers have published tons of studies about this craft. Many of these studies contradict anecdotal evidence. For example, copying code isn't as bad as you might think: <a href="http://www.neverworkintheory.org/?p=102" rel="nofollow">http://www.neverworkintheory.org/?p=102</a><p>Another example is TDD. People espouse the benefits, then some study comes along (<a href="http://www.neverworkintheory.org/?p=139" rel="nofollow">http://www.neverworkintheory.org/?p=139</a>) saying the benefits are largely illusory and that code reviews are more effective.<p>Instead of listening to the experts <i>at</i> programming, listen to the experts <i>on</i> programming. Read some studies about the effectiveness of various tools and methods. Try new things. Programming is a craft, and like many crafts it contains significant amounts of dogma passed from teacher to apprentice.