The Lindy Effect in Software

Clément Sauvage applies the Lindy effect — the idea that a thing's remaining life expectancy is proportional to how long it's already survived — to technology choices in software engineering.

The core argument: a technology's longevity is a signal of robustness, and choosing established tools over shiny new ones is often the safer bet. Sauvage aligns with the "choose boring technology" philosophy, listing five benefits of mature tech: stability from years of bug fixes, a rich ecosystem of docs and libraries, predictable real-world performance, easier hiring, and reduced risk from unknown failure modes.

He illustrates with Go versus Java for enterprise backends — personally preferring Go but acknowledging why large companies bet on Java's decades of institutional experience. SQL (since 1989) and C (since 1972) serve as examples of technologies whose staying power suggests continued relevance.

Four practical takeaways for engineers: adopt new tech prudently, use proven foundations for core components, design for maintainability over the long haul, and favor incremental evolution over constant rewrites.