I tend to agree with most of the article. IMO, people pick up cameras for different reasons. Some do it because they simply want to record events in their lives, others do it because they want to pursue the more artistic aspect of it in creating great photographs that inspire others.
I think the first group tends to be a lot more utilitarian than imaginative, so they focus on features that allow them to take easy and fast snapshots of the events in their lives, then share them with their friends and family. Hence portable P&S cameras, phone cameras with upload capabilities, social media and/or file server accounts, etc. Probably never heard of f-stop, aperture, etc. It's all about capturing those precious moments around us, and not caring a whole lot about IQ as an absolute. I don't think many of them join gear forums, or photography forums, etc.
The second group is much more aimed at getting those great photos. They're the ones who look at amazing photographs and say "I want to be able to do that". For many (especially in the Western world), the solution is gear. They chase different pieces of gear, and take lots of photos hoping a few of them will turn out great. When they don't, they end up getting more gear, or the next advancement in the gear they have, hoping that will solve their output. It's the same with other pursuits (when you want a lower golf score, get new golf clubs, right?). At some point, some of these budding photogs will start asking themselves "what is it about that photograph that inspires me? what makes a good photograph?", at which point the journey of discovery is afoot. They start reading stuff about photography, join forums, take classes in composition and advanced techniques, and finally move beyond the simple pursuit of better gear. Their rate of taking inspirational photographs increases dramatically, and that's when the imagination really kicks in.
So I think discussions like the one mentioned above happens between people on different sides of that transition from focus on gear to focus on composition and away from gear. It's quite frustrating for someone who has the latest piece of gear to still just take mediocre photographs because there's no understanding why (I know from personal experience). It's possible there's a prevalent common belief that photography is an art form that cannot be learned, so until someone gets over that and signs up for a class they simply won't understand how much they can learn. That frustration can easily spill into arguments over this gear or that, loyalty over this brand or that.
Obviously these are generalizations, but at least from my observations of discussions on various forums that's the conclusion I've reached.