When dealing with potentially null or undefined values, use optional chaining (`?.`) and nullish coalescing (`??`) operators instead of verbose conditionals. These operators make code more readable, concise, and prevent null reference errors. ```javascript // Verbose and error-prone if (object && object.property) { value = object.property; } else { value = defaultValue; } // Concise and safe value = object?.property ?? defaultValue; ``` In real-world code, these operators simplify common patterns: ```javascript // From discussion #1: Safely access property with fallback innerOk(this?.ok ?? ok, args.length, ...args); // From discussion #13: Conditional assignment with fallback this.secureOptions = secureOptions || undefined; // From discussion #15: Lazy loading with nullish assignment inspect ??= require('util').inspect; return inspect; ``` These operators are particularly valuable for: - Safely accessing deeply nested properties without verbose checks - Setting default values when null or undefined is encountered - Simplifying conditional logic around nullable values - Reducing boilerplate code for null safety Remember that optional chaining short-circuits when a reference is nullish, while nullish coalescing only falls back when the left side is specifically `null` or `undefined` (not other falsy values like `0` or `''`).