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Please don't dig up historical comments in order to criticize someone like this. We should be able to respond to the argument presented in a comment or subthread in its standalone context.
Do you think that "being competent at design" is the only requirement for designers?
I would say that it's more important to be competent in determining how design is going to be understood and used by users in their individual workflows. Few are more competent to judge that than the users themselves.
I'm pretty sure most folks have seen and experienced the negative impacts of designers changing things for the sake of change (or to justify their paychecks).
Being competent in determining how design is going to be understood and used by users IS being competent at design.
There is a massive amount of bad design out there — made by designers. There is a large amount of bad software implementations. By programmers. And awful chairs, food, and ...
I'm not sure how that is relevant. Pulling up someone's unrelated comments because you disagree with the current discussion is discouraged at best.