I obviously can't speak to Arthur Whitney's state of mind circa some summer afternoon 1990, but I don't believe the code is an attempt to obfuscate or be snobby

I obviously can't speak to Arthur Whitney's state of mind circa some summer afternoon 1990, but I don't believe the code is an attempt to obfuscate or be snobby/elitist at all. He was simply trying to express the basics of an idea in a terse form. It's the APL way. I, for one, am happy simply finding the code 'of interest'. It's not great code, it's the initial sketch of an idea (I'll bet you AW would admit that readily (plus Roger Hui refers to it as "Incunabulum", which seems a bit tongue in cheek)) -- but, it's certainly not something you see every day, and it is thought provoking.