# When to Reject Change in Software Development: Shannon's Demon and Volatility

DevFeed: [When to Reject Change in Software Development: Shannon's Demon and Volatility](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/reject-change-sometimes-39979.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://newsletter.kentbeck.com/p/reject-change-sometimes>)

Author: Kent Beck

Published: 2026-09-02T13:29:36Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Software Design: Tidy First?](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/software-design-tidy-first.md>)

Topics: [Development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/development.md>), [Software Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software-engineering.md>), [Programming](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/programming.md>)

Tags: [change](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/change.md>), [product-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/product-development.md>), [software-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software-development.md>)

## AI overview

The article uses Shannon's Demon--a strategy that repeatedly rebalances between a stable asset and a volatile one--to explain how software development can create value by managing volatility. It discusses the exception to always embracing change and applies the metaphor to software product development.

## Source excerpt

Volatility, Shannon's Demon, & Free Money