It is instantly plainly obvious to me what each step of their shell script is doing.
While I can absolutely understand what your shell script does after parsing it, it's meaning doesn't leap out at me in the same way.
I would describe the prior shell script as more quickly readable than the one that you've listed.
So, perhaps it's not a question of one being more silly than the other—perhaps the author just has different priorities from you?
It is instantly plainly obvious to me what each step of their shell script is doing.
While I can absolutely understand what your shell script does after parsing it, it's meaning doesn't leap out at me in the same way.
I would describe the prior shell script as more quickly readable than the one that you've listed.
So, perhaps it's not a question of one being more silly than the other—perhaps the author just has different priorities from you?