That just sounds to me like he hasn't worked on large code bases with multiple teams. No way it would be considered acceptable once you're interesting with enough other people.
This sadly sounds like one of the projects on my teamat the moment and it's horrifying.
One guy working on it, I'm really the only reviewer. Code is all stuff like this. Variables named j1 through j20, dozens and dozens of nearly identical functions with tons of brute force, copy-pasted code, etc. Works well enough but it's just horrifying to try to read and review.
Edit:. Just remembered, he had all these grouped functions passing (and sometimes returning) 60+ identical variables that didn't need to be local because he refused to use class vars, etc.
He's gotten a lot better about this stuff in the last year though
You know, as an amateur with massive impostor syndrome who's probably going to be applying for jobs soon, this comment and those like it give me strength.
I found a variable named "t" Friday. I figured I must be looking at the minified version, but nope! Someone just decided to name something "t", I have no idea why.