It could be, if you were trying to only understand how the code does something. But more often, you're actively trying to understand how it was built by comparing assumptions with the code in front of you. It is not merely walking the path, if you've created a similar path and are comparing techniques.
Agreed. I like the paper and I think it raises important considerations, but it does overstate its case a bit.
I mean - people do learn new codebases after all.
It's just more difficult to do than some think.
