This is often the case. When implementing something complex, a train of thought may require writing code then reducing it down to a degenerate form once certain

This is often the case. When implementing something complex, a train of thought may require writing code then reducing it down to a degenerate form once certain conditions are confirmed/discovered; often the degenerate form is left as a placeholder in case something need be added back in ... alas, the final cleanup stage may not arrive and some oddities may be left behind to confuse future maintainers. Cleverness can, from some angles, look stupid. Or maybe it's just stupid. Sometimes you just can't tell the difference.