Preparing for Launch Academy while finishing up work as the director Brookline Tai Chi has been a massive exercise in balancing “theory and practice.” This explanation from Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby by Sandi Metz perfectly captures the difference: What is the difference between theory and practice? In theory, there is none. If theory were practice you could learn the rules of OOD, apply them consistently, and create perfect code from this day forward; your work here would be done.