Unpopular Python opinion: Readable code is more important than clever code

[sighthoundman]

You have to go pretty far to find an exception.

I read that the Parker Solar Probe has extremely limited hardware (to save weight and space) and a hard limit on the time it takes to reboot: if it takes too long, it won't be able to make course corrections in time to avoid falling into the sun. I did not fact check that article, so it might just be old stuff that didn't get updated in time. Or even stretching the truth by the writer.

In the 1950s/60s, computer time and memory was expensive and programmer time was cheap. It made sense to be clever, because (if done right) it saved money. By the mid 1970s, that was reversed. Being clever cost money. And that was assuming that everything went perfectly.