I think the issue is that you are conflating lines of code with complexity. I certainly think it is better to write short programs, but it is wrong to think tha

I think the issue is that you are conflating lines of code with complexity. I certainly think it is better to write short programs, but it is wrong to think that less LOC == better code. The most valuable kind of software IMO is the kind you don't think about because it never fails, and at that point your LOC measurements are irrelevant.