I can understand some arguments that there’s always room to advance UI paradigms, but I have to say that I don’t think that cloud-based smartphone UIs are the endgame.

I think the first filesystems had flat layout (no directories), but also had different file types for a library, an executable, a plaintext file. Then there were filesystems where directories could only list files, not other directories.

Slowly and gradually over time they evolved to the abstractions of directories listing files and other directories. I think in early Unix even a directory was a usual file, just differently interpreted.

Now, instead of teaching clueless people they've made a whole culture of computing for clueless people only, unfit for proper usage.

One might see how representation of something like a lent of objects is the flat layout again. At some point it doesn't matter that there's a normal filesystem under it, or something.

One might also see how using tags to somewhat organize objects into another lent is similar to a two-level layout, where a directory can only list files.

If one is going to consume content, okay, fine.

How would one know if they want to use computers seriously if they haven't been taught, don't know where to start teaching themselves, probably have, mild or not, executive dysfunction (a lot of conditions) and, if put in the right situation, would be very capable and interested, but in the wrong situation just can't learn a single thing?

That was me, I could only reduce distractions and non-transparency after moving to Linux (and then OpenBSD, and then FreeBSD) with obscure WMs and setups. I'm born in 1996, so I had it easier.