[HeyLaughingBoy]

the constraints quickly force you to think small

That only works if you're building stuff for yourself. And then only if it's for a hobby. Otherwise you find yourself trying to (e.g.,) stuff a complex and somewhat safety-critical(1) control loop with 16-bit fixed-point division implemented in assembler into a processor with 1200 bytes of memory.

(1) phone calls from the irritated client that your design caught fire and would have burned down his lab if he hadn't noticed the smoke at 5PM are generally not a good thing...