The hard truth that there is no cure for color blindness is one of the motivations behind the quest for perceptually uniform colormaps. This archived article is an excellent description of the issues that have led to the Viridis color map gaining in popularity. See this article for more such maps, and this one for added credit.

Pointwise’s API always matches the current state of the software: as the software adds features, the API does too. While an old script may be less efficient / elegant, is it logical that it should still work? Yes, but only within limits. The API is a pathway between the foundational code and the scripts: if the foundation changes enough, the pathway may need to change.

Is there a way out? Yes. Remember that macros are convenient but limited. Restrict them to Step 3 and you’ll be on safer grounds.

In a field whose motto could well be “Citius, Citius, Citius”, can it ever be a mistake to look for a faster way to do things? Yes, if speed comes at the cost of quality. This article discusses the merits and demerits of discrete and analytic representations of geometry both in general and with reference to specific applications in engineering.