Aaron admits he used to wrap every query in plain old if-statements—until Laravel’s when()/unless() helpers (and arrow functions) won him over. He and Joel compare their journeys, debate readability trade-offs, and share guidelines for deciding which style to use. Along the way they discuss false assumptions, evolving “code grammar,” and how tools such as Rector can automate the switch.

• (00:00) - Intro – refining long-held opinions