I think "high iteration time" taken to the extreme is programming without a computer, like when taking a walk. You construct a very detailed mental model of how the program operates and interrogate it in your head.

This only works once you're a bit more advanced, but the one sure sign of a senior dev is the accuracy of their mental model. Which is also what allows you to write your piece without a continual back and forth with the compiler.

This all said, I greatly enjoy ping pong with a repl or instant hot reloading when doing visuals or sound.