I'd be happy to argue why Linus is wrong here. Many things would be much easier if git recorded some more metadata in every commit: file moves, and branch moves

I'd be happy to argue why Linus is wrong here. Many things would be much easier if git recorded some more metadata in every commit: file moves, and branch moves, to start with. Having some sort of notion of "parent branch" would be very useful for a number of common operations, and a "renamed file" without having to rely on client dependent heuristics too. Empty files trip people up all the time so a "create file" would fit in perfectly. These concepts would also be a good basis for more user friendly clients. Other version control systems do this the surprise factor should be low.