Don't get me wrong I'm a macro fan. I've worked with some elegant codebases using metaprogramming but it's been challenging bringing people up to speed with super clear efficient - but novel - code,

Other projects that were just down the line Java boilerplate built on a well understood library worked just as well in other ways.

Personally I think reducing cognitive load is key, I've found people don't have the energy to work with clever code, even if it makes writing it a delight.

... and then llms happened, and I now don't write code at all but closely review a fire hose of mediocrity that gets the job done. I don't want that too magical.