If you drag it out of context, sure the first example looks more clear. But there is a difference between Boolean logic and arithmetic, and as soon as you use p

If you drag it out of context, sure the first example looks more clear. But there is a difference between Boolean logic and arithmetic, and as soon as you use proper variable names, that becomes evident: (isAdmin || (canReadDocument && canModifyMetadata)) && accountIsActive Using parentheses makes the code a lot easier to understand here. All these variables carry state with lots of subtleties. Figuring out the implications of all the different cases becomes a lot easier when the code clearly tells them apart.