(Image: Johann Georg Meyer “Das Lesende Mädchen”, 1871) Introduction There is a hidden history to software engineering that some have come to know, but of which most are sadly unaware. Instead, as happens so often in history, a vein of easily graspable but unworkable techniques and ideas has come to dominate the industry. These techniques are bundled with their own superficially plausible justifications and are parroted, easily enough, by amateurs to ensnare other amateurs. And so, we have a generation of…