Ethan, I need your vote: do we let the smart thermostat learn our routines, or keep programming it by hand?

Learning gets my vote, provided it doesn't quietly crank up the heat while I'm recording in my home studio.

It shouldn't. It works out when the house will be occupied and adjusts gradually beforehand, so nothing should lurch while you're mid-take.

So on a day when I'm out the door at eight, it could let the place cool off and then have it warm again by the time I walk back in?

Precisely, whereas your old schedule keeps heating an empty house for no better reason than that the clock says so.