Analog is far more energy-efficient than digital, though, because digital is really analog with huge gaps inserted to make the 1s and 0s detectable and not look

Analog is far more energy-efficient than digital, though, because digital is really analog with huge gaps inserted to make the 1s and 0s detectable and not look too much like 0.5s. So there is a theoretical possibility that the efficiency benefits could outweigh the complexity liabilities.