Designers aren't dumb (well not for the most part). The problem is that they're optimizing for dumb people, potentially because either their background or curre

Designers aren't dumb (well not for the most part). The problem is that they're optimizing for dumb people, potentially because either their background or current KPIs lead them to optimize for "engagement" as opposed to actual power-user usage. The problem with optimizing for idiots is that it prevents those idiots from ever learning. Back in the day, idiots might fumble around with power-user features but will eventually become proficient at them if they use them frequently enough - I know many people that I would consider IT "idiots" but they still are very proficient at specific features they use regularly (more than me in fact). If you remove power-user features however, there's no chance for anyone to learn them anymore, so people have no choice but to remain idiots.