Software people buy magic beans whenever they believe claims that their best judgment tells them are impossible. Vendors continue to promise that they have beans that will produce huge beanstalks and allow the purchasers to scale to impossible heights of productivity. Developers and managers continue to spend millions of dollars based on those claims. It's human nature to look for an easy way out, and it's entirely rational to look for the cheapest, fastest, easiest solution. But it's hard to believe that trained professionals would continue to act against their best judgment for 30 years, which is what we as an industry have done.
Software development is a tough, time-consuming business.
For 30 years we've been told that the magic that will enable us to slay giant schedules and budgets is just around the corner. For 30 years it hasn't come. I say, enough is enough. There is no magic. There is no point in waiting for it.