This article is not an an argument against tests. It is an argument specifically against the practices of TDD.

I do REPL based development and this informs my creation of tests. Code that works well in the REPL typically works really well in putting in a test.

In fact I would argue it creates better tests than a TDD approach. I find that the TDD practionioners I watch, end up writing too much complex scaffolding to get tests working.

A REPL based approach also leads you to create more relevant tests IMO. With TDD you may end up writing lots of pointless tests which ultimately get thrown away because your code takes a different turn of direction.

But as I said, I am not suggesting that REPL based approach is better for everyone. It depends on your style of development, the language you use and the type of software you make.

I am simply saying that I don't find TDD beneficial, and when observing long time TDD practioners use a TDD approach I cannot say I am won over by what I see. Quite the contrary I keep seeing how a REPL based approach would have led to quicker development of robust code.

That does not rule out that there are brilliant TDD practioneers out there. But I have seen experienced TDD guys who are smarter than me get worse results than I would have gotten from REPL based approach. That is not encouraging to me. I cannot shake the feeling that TDD has become a cargo cult in software development.