--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All non-trivial abstractions, to some…" description: "\"All non-trivial abstractions, to some degree, are leaky.\" — Joel Spolsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/joel-spolsky-15347_abstraction_all-non-trivial-abstractions-to-some-deg_2807467.jpg" --- # All non-trivial abstractions, to some degree, are leaky. ![“All non-trivial abstractions, to some degree, are leaky.” quote by Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/joel-spolsky-15347_abstraction_all-non-trivial-abstractions-to-some-deg_2807467.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/joel-spolsky-15347_abstraction_all-non-trivial-abstractions-to-some-deg_2807467.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/joel-spolsky-15347_abstraction_all-non-trivial-abstractions-to-some-deg_2807467.jpg) > “All non-trivial abstractions, to some degree, are leaky.” [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Complex abstractions inevitably have flaws; no model is perfectly accurate. **In simple terms:** All abstractions leak. Key Takeaway Expect and manage imperfections in designs. Themes software engineering abstraction imperfection Mood analytical pragmatic Type technical philosophical When to use this quote - coding projects - API design - legacy systems Key Concepts design patterns system architecture Questions to Reflect On - How do you mitigate leaky abstractions? - When is abstraction worth the risk? A Different Perspective Perfect models are unattainable, but useful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Abstractions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstractions/) [Abstractions Degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstractions-degree-3495325/) [Degree Leaky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degree-leaky-3495324/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Leaky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaky-2827746/) [Trivial Abstractions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trivial-abstractions-3495323/) ## Related quotes > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [“I don't know which is finally sicker -- specifics or engulfing abstractions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lutz/i-don-t-know-which-is-finally-sicker-specifics-or-engulfing/) [Gary Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lutz/) > [My father painted, well into his 80s, what he called hard edge abstractions. It's really cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/my-father-painted-well-into-his-80s-what-he-called-hard-edge/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [Even at its most perceptive, sociology deals in abstractions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/even-at-its-most-perceptive-sociology-deals-in-abstractions/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [I think we are living a life without specificity, and then our lives become abstractions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-think-we-are-living-a-life-without-specificity-and-then-our-lives/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [I don't see those paintings as abstractions, especially because they are emblems of the inkblot. They aren't smashed together; they are constructed shape-by-shape, layer-by-layer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/i-don-t-see-those-paintings-as-abstractions-especially-because-they/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [For the Warrior of the Light, there are no abstractions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/for-the-warrior-of-the-light-there-are-no-abstractions/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To make someone an icon is to make him an abstraction, and abstractions are incapable of vital communication with living people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-make-someone-an-icon-is-to-make-him-an-abstraction-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Policymakers think that if they get the abstractions right, that will drive behavior in the desired direction. But the world happens in real time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/policymakers-think-that-if-they-get-the-abstractions-right-that-will/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [At the same time, new concepts and abstractions flow into the picture, taking up the task of describing the universe without reference to such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-the-same-time-new-concepts-and-abstractions-flow-into-the-picture/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is easier to compare concrete things in a fictional story with concrete things in real life than it is to compare abstractions with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/it-is-easier-to-compare-concrete-things-in-a-fictional-story-with/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [You can deny, if you like, nearly all abstractions: justice, beauty, truth, goodness, mind, God. You can deny seriousness, but not play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/you-can-deny-if-you-like-nearly-all-abstractions-justice-beauty-truth/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [Abstractions about right and wrong, whether they are as old as Thou Shalt Not Kill or as modern as Do Your Own Thing, often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/abstractions-about-right-and-wrong-whether-they-are-as-old-as-thou/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [When novels deal in abstractions, they generally go off the rails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/when-novels-deal-in-abstractions-they-generally-go-off-the-rails/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [In retrospect I can see that my desire to create abstractions has become more and more radical. Art should not be delivering a report…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/in-retrospect-i-can-see-that-my-desire-to-create-abstractions-has/) [Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/) ## More by Joel Spolsky > [If your goals is to produce something of permanent value, you start to think differently about you want on the site.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spolsky/if-your-goals-is-to-produce-something-of-permanent-value-you-start-to/) [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) > [Every day that we spent not improving our products was a wasted day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spolsky/every-day-that-we-spent-not-improving-our-products-was-a-wasted-day/) [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) > [Good software, like wine, takes time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spolsky/good-software-like-wine-takes-time/) [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) > [Remember, just because Microsoft can do something, doesn't mean you can. Microsoft makes their own gravity. Normal rules don't apply to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spolsky/remember-just-because-microsoft-can-do-something-doesn-t-mean-you-can/) [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) > [“If you can’t understand the spec for a new technology, don’t worry: nobody else will understand it either, and the technology won’t be that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spolsky/if-you-can-t-understand-the-spec-for-a-new-technology-don-t-worry/) [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) > [So if you want to get things done, you positively have to understand at any given point in time what is the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spolsky/so-if-you-want-to-get-things-done-you-positively-have-to-understand/) [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) > [Not having a schedule is OK if it's your PhD and you plan to spend 14 years on the thing, or if you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spolsky/not-having-a-schedule-is-ok-if-it-s-your-phd-and-you-plan-to-spend-14/) [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) > [If you are a programmer working in 2006 and you don’t know the basics of characters, character sets, encodings, and Unicode, and I catch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spolsky/if-you-are-a-programmer-working-in-2006-and-you-don-t-know-the-basics/) [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) > [“In any case, even if a usability test resolves a dispute, it doesn't do it in any kind of a statistically valid way. Unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spolsky/in-any-case-even-if-a-usability-test-resolves-a-dispute-it-doesn-t-do/) [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) > [“The confidence you get from knowing about every crash, anywhere in the world, is crucial to delivering a high-quality product that needs to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spolsky/the-confidence-you-get-from-knowing-about-every-crash-anywhere-in-the/) [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) > [“Many rookie software managers think that they can "motivate" their programmers to work faster by giving them nice, "tight" (unrealistically short) schedules. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-spolsky/many-rookie-software-managers-think-that-they-can-motivate-their/) [Joel Spolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-spolsky/) > [Beware of Methodologies. 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A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) [Banesh Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banesh-hoffmann/) > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) [Alfred Aho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-aho/) > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. 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