There are lots of interesting tips and ideas relating to programming techniques and related principals bandied about. The people who advocate them have all sorts of different backgrounds, and undeniably it can be very useful to draw on the experience of others.
Some techniques are devised to solve problems that are common to all programmers alike, but the significance of an underlying problem addressed will vary for each project. While something may be critically important for you, it could well be of insignificant concern to somebody working on a different project.
Each programmer faces difference challenges, and has difference experience - so the solutions they come up with are quite personal to the individual. For example a programmer may advocate a technique that merely addresses a problem specific to certain programming languages, or is specific to the size/complexity of their application or even their development team.
Techniques in computer programming have evolved significantly over time, and opinions are constantly changing. This is no surprise, considering the rapid pace of change in what software is used for and how it is used.
Because of this, I feel it is important to have an awareness of various different techniques. In each new scenario it's then possible to decide what is the most appropriate technique, treating each case on its merits.
Programming is a complex task and difficult to make generalisations about. There are many tips floating around that contradict one another, and have no explanation of what the basis for them is. It is more difficult to evaluate a technique, without some explanation of what its purpose is.