[pwdisswordfishz]

If you're going to adjust willy-nilly on which loop of the spiral a given element appears, then it's not much of a rule, isn't it? I mean, why not write this?

        +----------------------------+
        | +-----------------------+  |
        | | +------------------+  |  |
        | | | +-------------+  |  |  |
        | | | | +--------+  |  |  |  |
        | | | | |  +--+  |  |  |  |  |
        | | | | |  ^  |  |  |  |  |  |
    int ¦ ¦ * * ¦ VAR ¦ [1] ¦ [2][3] ¦
     ^  | | | | |     |  |  |  |  |  |
     |  | | | | +-----+  |  |  |  |  |
     |  | | | +----------+  |  |  |  |
     |  | | +---------------+  |  |  |
     |  | ---------------------+  |  |
     |  +-------------------------+  |
     +-------------------------------+

[256_]

I think that's their point. I read it as explaining why the rule doesn't work, rather than defending it.