Recording a metric is not a cheap operation in many contexts. I work with code we typically instrument at a microsecond to millisecond granularity. Sampling profilers typically record instruction samples at most every 200 us or so, so adding instrumentation at a finer granularity than this has a dramatic effect on performance. If a game operates at 60 fps, adding a metric at an inopportune time will render the game unplayable.

No, I haven't been on teams that dysfunctional. These restrictions are born out of necessity. My point was that you seem to have a somewhat narrow view on software as a whole, and you are extrapolating from your personal experience general advice that simply doesn't apply.