I understand your example, but as a counterpoint: I do keep simple scripts in version control, too.

But the real simple stuff usually starts out in my misc scripts folder. But that's more for filesystem organisation, not because creating a git repo has any (mental) overhead.

> In the 20 years of (solo?) development of DF, do you not suppose a rational person would adopt versioning were a lack thereof impacting them noticeably?

If they never got around to learning about version control, it's totally imaginable that they are sort-of rational, and that version control would have improved their lives.