It's a personal preference based on how we mentally model problems. I cannot stand long procedural code. The mental gymnastics required to know what it does is

It's a personal preference based on how we mentally model problems. I cannot stand long procedural code. The mental gymnastics required to know what it does is too much. More than 5-6 variables in scope and I have no idea if it does what you say it does. It would take me some time to figure that out. If it is under test we can at least say it's not wrong some times. I much prefer breaking problems down to the level where I can reason in terms of sets, algebras, and that sort of thing. It's much easier for my brain to rely on properties and the ability to substitute terms in equations than it is to reconstruct a giant state machine and execute it in my head. Much more so when we add concurrency to the mix. At the end of the day though I don't think there's, "one true way."