I'll disagree so far as to say that a language that doesn't allow you to obfuscate code is very likely to be overly restrictive and only suited for a certain niche job. To me, the fact that a language is unsuitable for obfuscation is a point against it. That's not because I obfuscate production code, it's because the same shortcuts that let you express something in a hard to understand way, also let you express other things in an easier to understand way.
Cryptic coding is cool in the same way that cryptic tricky mathematical formulas that turn into something really simple once you solve them. Do I look down upon mathematicians who can do that? Hardly. Now would a mathematician intentionally use cryptic formulas when documenting his research? Also hardly.
The difference is whether one knows to clearly separate fun from work. That is a mindset budding programmers should be taught as soon as possible.
Makeshifts last the longest.
