Code quality in the Linux kernel varies a lot per individual driver or subsystem
Well, Linus uses a broader definition of kernel than is customary, referring to a monolithic (macro) kernel. If you really seek elegance in OS code, you start by looking at microkernels, stripped of all the device-dependent clutter. Harmony, for instance was a mere 20 kbyte kernel, even on 68K architectures. http://books.google.com/books?id=xvOpC0_r14wC&pg=PA100 http://www.researchgate.net/publication/234826460_Harmony_as_an_object-oriented_operating_system This led to the even more succinct MQX, which is embedded in quajjillions of devices.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MQX
If you prefer, we could just distinguish "real medicine" from "pretend medicine"... Of course individual practioners use a mix of the two, particularly when there's no real treatment for a diagnosed condition that is either untreatable or harmless. That in no way makes pretending a full-time substitute for evidence.
You are in a maze of little twisting passages, all alike.