It’s possible to become a master at software design, but you must set your expectations correctly.
Many things in modern life are packaged like factoids -- 5-minute abs! Even “minute physics”.
Mastery takes time. Mastering contractual design is a great investment. It's the best way I know to become good at software design.
References:
Alan Kay: https://www.quora.com/What-did-Alan-Kay-mean-by-Lisp-is-the-greatest-single-programming-language-ever-designed/answer/Alan-Kay-11
C2 Wiki on Christopher Alexander's "The Gate": https://wiki.c2.com/?TheGate
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow, 2011
Christopher Alexander, The Timeless Way of Building, 1979.
Richard Gabriel, Patterns of Software, 1996.
D'Souza and Wills, Catalysis, 1998: https://www.catalysis.org/books/ocf/index.htm
