Drawing from a Dune quote about long-term decision-making, the author argues that neither big upfront design nor emergent design alone works in software architecture. The key is staying flexible, treating technology choices as tools rather than goals, and being willing to revise decisions. The author applies this philosophy personally — working as a consultant not as an identity but as a means to achieve life goals — and extends it to system design: architecture should serve business goals, not become an end in itself.
