Variable names should be clear. Sometimes tradition makes short names clear: for example, "i" and "j" are traditional names for loop indices being iterated over

Variable names should be clear. Sometimes tradition makes short names clear: for example, "i" and "j" are traditional names for loop indices being iterated over. Sometimes, especially in scientific functions, there are standard notations that do the same thing; the most famous is probably either "F = ma" or "e = mc^2". When this happens, the traditional/standard short names should be used, because the weight of tradition and standards can actually make these names clearer than anything longer and "more descriptive." But there are many cases where there is no tradition or standard to clarify a variable name, and when that happens, you shouldn't be afraid to use something longer.