People cover their ears when they find out a benchmark is synthetic, because it goes against cargo-cult "profile then optimize, no premature" type advice. Never

People cover their ears when they find out a benchmark is synthetic, because it goes against cargo-cult "profile then optimize, no premature" type advice. Never mind that plenty of situations exist where the smallest-factors, one-at-a-time, scientific way is the best way to get good information. Or that said advice is based on the case of banging out a readable, working program, not making the best-performing program in its class.