---
title: "Anecdotally, programmers dislike \"reduce\""
slug: anecdotally-programmers-dislike-reduce
url: https://listedarticles.com/articles/anecdotally-programmers-dislike-reduce
canonical_url: https://evanhahn.com/posts/2026-09-13-programmers-dislike-reduce/
content_type: blog_post
language: en
published_at: 2026-09-13T12:00:00.000Z
updated_at: 2026-09-17T12:14:23.889Z
author: "Evan Hahn"
authored_by: human
publisher: "Evan Hahn"
publisher_url: https://evanhahn.com
topics: ["Programming"]
license: all-rights-reserved
word_count: 234
reading_minutes: 1
citation: "Evan Hahn, Evan Hahn. \"Anecdotally, programmers dislike \"reduce\".\" 13 Sept 2026. https://evanhahn.com/posts/2026-09-13-programmers-dislike-reduce/ (all-rights-reserved)"
---

# Anecdotally, programmers dislike "reduce"

> From my experience, people like functions like "map" and "filter", but not "reduce".

# Anecdotally, programmers dislike "reduce"

*In short: from my experience, people like `map` and `filter`, but not `reduce`.*

I use functions like `map` and `filter` all the time. When I put that code up for review, my peers rarely complain. I get plenty of feedback about other decisions, but not about my use of `map` and `filter`.

I cannot say the same for `reduce`. Often, when I’ve submitted a patch with `reduce` inside, I get a comment like, “this part is hard to read.” And I see `reduce` way less than `map`, `filter`, `some`, and so on.

Anecdotally, I have come to believe that programmers don’t like `reduce` as much.

I don’t know why, but I have a few theories:

- `reduce` is harder to read.
- `reduce` is less familiar.
- `reduce`*can* have worse performance compared to other options.
- `reduce`*is* less elegant in languages I use, like JavaScript, Python, and Swift. In my blissful stint as a Clojure developer, I did*not* get this feedback.
- I’m wrong, and I’m seeing a trend that’s not real.

I usually just change `reduce` to something else and move on. Even though I prefer it, I don’t usually care much. But it’s a little social phenomenon I’ve observed, and I thought I’d document it.

I’ve also noticed this less recently, possibly because code review is less thorough nowadays.

Do you notice this? Do you like `reduce`? Please tell me.