Mechanics and Fixing Any Questions Answered

"precisely no difference at all" Not something I, or any other qualified mechanic would let back to a customer without the very simple and cheap job of doing it properly though.

Neither would I. I wouldn't have one of my bikes with a cable looking like that, and if I was fitting it professionally I wouldn't let it out of the workshop looking like that, because it looks awful. Nonetheless, once the cable leaves the clamping point, on a purely functional level, it doesn't matter if it's held together with a cable end, left as fluffy as a horse's tail, stuck together with rocking horse shit, or bonded tightly with the tears of a unicorn. In fact, you could trim it right back so that no part of the cable extended beyond the clamping washer, and it would make no difference at all as long as the cable didn't slip, which it wouldn't if it's tightened properly. As it is, provided the retaining nuts is tightened sufficently, the splayed cable makes no functional difference, hence the "precisely no difference at all" comment. It's still not something I'd want on my bike.