So, I just want to be sure that I got what you mean.
If my app (or whatever) just include what I think is good because users are idiots and I know better than them, then, my app will only attract idiotic users (or attract smart ones, but they'll behave like the idiot one)?
Using the parent example, if I'm an idiot user (or one behaving like that) I wouldn't want a slider that allows me to select the range I want, but I would want a specific button labeled 10-12? Or I wouldn't even want one, because the app creators know better than me?
And in the last paragraph, it's about letting users go on a journey from novice to expert using your app if they want? Like using a tooltip on an icon showing how to the same using a keyboard shortcut.
It's not about that hypothesis. It's a great book but it's more about how projects are products of organizational structures. It's a Pulitzer Prize winner. I'm still waiting for a movie to be made about it. An "all the presidents men" of the 80s minicomputer market.
If only I had infinite time, energy and money; the things I'd do...
To reinforce kristopolous' argument: Even smart users will behave like idiot ones, because with software designed for idiot users, that's usually the only way you can behave. This makes it a self-fulfilling prophecy: "But look, everyone uses only the mouse, never any keyboard shortcuts!" Well, duh, since you didn't make any keyboard shortcuts...
If my app (or whatever) just include what I think is good because users are idiots and I know better than them, then, my app will only attract idiotic users (or attract smart ones, but they'll behave like the idiot one)?
Using the parent example, if I'm an idiot user (or one behaving like that) I wouldn't want a slider that allows me to select the range I want, but I would want a specific button labeled 10-12? Or I wouldn't even want one, because the app creators know better than me?
And in the last paragraph, it's about letting users go on a journey from novice to expert using your app if they want? Like using a tooltip on an icon showing how to the same using a keyboard shortcut.