The more technically competent you are - the more you want to be focused on your domain specialization - syadmin, cloud, development, devops, networking, PM etc.

Why would any professional wish to waste time learning the complex compatibility matrix of USB-C consumer cabling?

Exactly. Why should anyone? You should just be able to look at the cable and know what it does. Which as the article points out is not the current situation. The person I replied to stated that googling it is the answer but not everyone is that competent.