What Is The Noise Argument?

The Noise Argument in software development occurs when code is dismissed as 'too noisy' during reviews, often due to subjective preferences about token count rather than objective legibility. This argument is flawed because more tokens don't automatically reduce legibility, and legibility depends on multiple factors. A common example is the debate over using curly braces in JavaScript conditionals, where the argument leads to unproductive bikeshedding. The article advises focusing on the ultimate cause of discomfort with code rather than surface-level noise, to avoid shallow discussions and uncover deeper issues like dead code or duplication.