This is true. But unless you are sure that current and future inputs will always be small I find it is better to start with the algorithm that scales better. Then you can add a special case for small sizes if it turns up in a hot path.
This is because performance is typically less important for the fast/small case and it is generally acceptable for processing twice as much to be twice (or slightly more than twice) as slow, but users are far more likely to hit and really burned by n^2 algorithms in things you thought would almost always be small and you never tested large enough sizes in testing to notice.
This is because performance is typically less important for the fast/small case and it is generally acceptable for processing twice as much to be twice (or slightly more than twice) as slow, but users are far more likely to hit and really burned by n^2 algorithms in things you thought would almost always be small and you never tested large enough sizes in testing to notice.
I wrote more on this topic here https://kevincox.ca/2023/05/09/less-than-quadratic/