This is news to me. I use JOE and, occasionally, vi (sic). But when I use short variable names it's often because they're idiomatic and expressive. In C for example, i, j, n, src, buf, cp, etc.
Many moons ago I used IDEs. Eventually I tired of installing, configuring, and maintaining bespoke environments.
I'm confident I'm not alone.
https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2019#technology-_-...
I can't imagine working that way myself. I need syntax highlighting, code completion, and go to definition at the minimum. Another newer feature I like is spelling and grammar checking of code comments.
Edit: Have you given Sublime Text 3 a shot?
Let's just say that it's a big world. People programming Excel spreadsheets aren't using vi, either. I won't dispute that.
CS papers are the worst in my experience. I know lines have to be kept short, but I think some people believe a tiny code block makes them look like a better programmer.
I like how Swift does it[0] — it reads nicer than any other language I've used.
[0]: https://swift.org/documentation/api-design-guidelines/