You're right. The quote should not discourage talking to users, but it should encourage true communication about the challenges that users face. In agreement

You're right. The quote should not discourage talking to users, but it should encourage true communication about the challenges that users face. In agreement with you, an important point is that most all of us are unable to articulate the specific problems we face everyday, and therefore we absolutely can't just tell some smart industrialist or software engineer how they can apply their skills to solve our problems.