Python Boolean Expression Evaluation Explained

Python’s `and` and `or` operators do not always return `True` or `False`.

They short-circuit and return the first decisive operand: `and` returns the first falsy value or the last operand, while `or` returns the first truthy value or the last operand.

This makes boolean expressions in Python behave like value selectors, not just comparisons.

The behavior matters for control flow and variable defaults, and can cause bugs when developers assume the result is always a pure boolean.