This was my point. People don't ride on an efficiency graph. Even you won't adhere to it. In the real world people shift to their ability and terrain. Some people like half step but most people, IMO, with a triple will ride in the middle for rollers & city, big for wide ops flats, and small for climbing.

I run a 2x on my mountain bikes. 24 is for climbing or if I'm not sure of the terrain, 34 for descents and flats. Since I'm only running 7 speeds, spaced closer together at 8, I can easily hit all cogs with either chainring. It is imperative for me at my age to make sure I'm not caught in the 34 with a sudden terrain change. While not as critical on my road bike I try to select a chainring for a ride section and I don't constantly toggle between chainrings, unless I suddenly have to dump to the granny unexpectedly.

John