The idea behind that was to ride extremely mellow, slowly, cautiously, and aware.
To have something like duct tape and a swaged cable(s) to keep things more or less together and to provide some modicum of warning before the form of the bike completely transforms into a loose pile of tubes. If it happened in five minutes so be it. If it lasted a few days, all the better. A couple weeks? I also would begin wearing my helmet which I never do.

I'm not recommending this to anyone, nor would I expect anyone to recommend it to me.
Nonetheless, that doesn't mean it can't work.
Obviously, I'd have to be willing to assume a certain level of risk, such as being thrown from the bike. I've been thrown before. I think of how things are held together in many Southeast Asian countries. Look into the mouth of a sugary tea drinking Nepali or a betel nut chewing Burmese ... those teeth have to chew food and they manage to get the job done. Now imagine those teeth - transmuted by a deity with a broad sense of humor and purpose - into a repaired bike frame.