PSA: common pitfalls that changed my mind [v3]

There is a lot of conflicting advice online and most of it is from 2019. Been thinking about this for a while and curious what the community thinks. Quick context: I am relatively new to this and trying to find my footing.

There is a lot of conflicting advice online and most of it is from 2019.

Been thinking about this for a while and curious what the community thinks. Spent the last few weekends digging into this and the deeper I go the more questions I have. Mostly thinking out loud — feel free to push back hard.