# The Wrong Abstraction by Sandi Metz

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/wrong-abstraction/

5 people recommended The Wrong Abstraction by Sandi Metz in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 12 months, in 4 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend this short essay on why wrong abstractions in code cost more than duplication, and why the content is worth reading past the headline.

Summary written by Claude from 4 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Important point worth reading closely (2 comments in the sample): "worth clicking through to the actual content of the talk rather than just the headline" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48621302)) "It’s a really important point and I’m glad to see there are more articles about it!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49218343))
- Core point: duplication beats wrong abstraction (1 comment in the sample): "Duplication is far cheaper than the wrong abstraction" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47746627))
- Describes a common real-world pattern (1 comment in the sample): "probably describes what happens with sufficient nuance" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49033423))

## Other articles people recommend

- [Programming as Theory Building by Peter Naur](https://hackerapproved.com/p/programming-as-theory-building/): 29 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize
- [Ur-Fascism by Umberto Eco](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ur-fascism/): 16 recommend, 1 mixed, 1 criticize
- [The Grug Brained Developer by Carson Gross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/grug-brained-developer/): 12 recommend, 1 mixed, 1 criticize
- [Politics and the English Language by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/politics-and-the-english-language/): 12 recommend, 2 mixed, 0 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Wrong Abstraction by Sandi Metz", https://hackerapproved.com/p/wrong-abstraction/ (5 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.