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From Chesterton's fence to Chesterton's gap

The British Writer and Catholic apologist G. K. Chesterton is, perhaps, most well known to programmers through a paragraph in which he introduces what is now known as “Chesterton’s fence”. It’s a very simple idea: You walk through a field and see a fence which, seemingly, has no purpose. Instead of tearing it down because it seemingly has no use, try to understand or ask why somebody put it there. 1 That’s it! The full quote is: ‘IN the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.”’ [source] ↩

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