Comment by bena

> As I see it, this is not so much about how long the bug has been in the system but about what kind of bug it is.

That makes sense. Even as I was working out in my head why a bug would be more difficult to fix later, I came across the same general thought. That the problem is that by the time the bug gets to production, there's a lot of underlying support for it. And often, fixing that bug means fixing the underlying support as well.

And it's something you often don't discover until you're bitten by it.

And these bugs will naturally be found later because they are more difficult to find in the first place.

Then we get to the bit that essentially reinforces the adage from The Mythical Man-Month: Plan to throw one away, you will anyhow.

And it makes sense. It is obvious when laid out as such. And it is obvious how that section of Code Complete is at odds with The Mythical Man-Month.