Because they are easier to read, and make the program clearer. Your anecdote is precisely what I was talking about. It doesn't matter if people who have not y

Because they are easier to read, and make the program clearer. Your anecdote is precisely what I was talking about. It doesn't matter if people who have not yet learned the subject don't understand it. It matters that people who have learned it understand it. People who have learned haskell find short variable names make the easiest to read code.