Recognizing that there's a special power in resilient technologies. Those that keep chugging along decade after decade, and getting stronger, too. Not from inertia or monopolist effects or other kinds of random lock-in. But because they tackle a certain set of fundamental problems very, very well. Despite endless complaints about their fundamental limitations, conceptual flaws or alleged lack of scalability.

SQL, Python, PHP, JavaScript, and many aspects of Unix and the C/Make toolchain all come to mind.

Mind you, I don't like all of the above. At least 2 in particular I definitely wouldn't mind seeing "just go away."

But I do recognize that they have special staying power. And they didn't get this power by accident.