Robin, although I see what you're saying and I understand it as well, I think Matt's point is kind of that if given ample areas to thermoregulate a snake won't bypass millions of years of trial and error and decide to cook itself. I feel as though the instincts and drive to live in an animal that's been surviving for so long and in so many varied conditions would be a little stronger than that. Think that if a ball is in the mouth of a burrow or under a board or whatever, and the outside temp on the ground is easily 160 or so, then i'm sure near the surface it could be around 110, but the python would be able to retreat deeper once it gets too hot. But in the case of a smaller tub set up or fear of hotspots, I think that simplifying it for our captive sakes is best, especially for those just starting out. Different keepers may over the years come up with different ways of keeping that they may feel are more suited to their animals. Most information we provide is simplified for beginners (so they don't make mistakes and kill their animals) or for our convenience.