I worked for a company that asked me not to use hash tables, because it no one else at the company knew how to use them. Finding your way around an arbitrary-length array of arbitrary-length arrays was apparently "easier" for them than learning the full capabilities of their chosen language (ColdFusion).

Point being, a little bit of "cleverness" in one place may save a lot of effort down the line. I've also never been too fond of that quote.