Worst C++ beginner mistake. Stop optimizing your code!

A beginner-focused guide arguing against premature optimization in C++. Using a game resource analogy and a Minecraft clone example, it demonstrates that optimizing before measuring is wasteful and often harmful. Key points include: only optimize when you have a measured performance problem, micro-optimizations like pass-by-value vs const-reference are usually irrelevant because the compiler handles them, and distinguishing between performance (how fast code runs) and efficiency (how well resources are used). The core advice is to keep code simple, correct, and easy to extend rather than chasing theoretical performance gains.