> The fact that the first response is immediately overwritten proves to the reader it's not important/never used, so they can forget about it, where a temp variable would add cognitive load since it might be used later.
I strive to write code that reduces cognitive load. To me, putting it in a temp variable is more of habit of old languages, mixed with a bit of cargo cult.
> To me, putting it in a temp variable is more of habit of old languages
If you do want an intermediate variable, naming it non-deceptively will reduce cognitive load. If you don't want one, that's fine too. There's no deception with a name that doesn't exist.
I strive to write code that reduces cognitive load. To me, putting it in a temp variable is more of habit of old languages, mixed with a bit of cargo cult.