Ternaries don't discard results that are generated, they are just special short-circuiting operators;
x if y else z
Is effectively syntax sugar for:
y and x or z
Nothing is discarded after evaluation, one of three arms is never evaluated, just as one of two arms of a common short-circuiting Boolean operator often (but not always) is not. That's essentially the opposite of executing and producing possible side effects and then discarding the results.
