> Never assume anybody is stupid. Instead, figure out how these intelligent, well-intentioned and experienced people have come to a decision which is stupid now.
On that note, don't assume that any particular existing piece of code you find is somehow "blessed". Do assume that everyone, yourself included is a total idiot and capable of writing fallible code, and in every avenue and every respect of life, assume that there _may_ be obvious, ingenious, simple/scalable/efficient/elegant solutions that have been overlooked leaving open possibility of a better way. Never be annoying about it though.
I had the opposite problem when I was junior: I believed most existing code was crap because “it’s not how I would have done it” and had trouble resisting the urge to rewrite everything. Learning to live with and thrive with legacy code is a great skill.
On that note, don't assume that any particular existing piece of code you find is somehow "blessed". Do assume that everyone, yourself included is a total idiot and capable of writing fallible code, and in every avenue and every respect of life, assume that there _may_ be obvious, ingenious, simple/scalable/efficient/elegant solutions that have been overlooked leaving open possibility of a better way. Never be annoying about it though.