I think you're being downvoted because of: "Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something."
Having said that, it does seem like the author's posts seem to get upvoted no matter what by a contingent of readers. I also found TFA to be quite basic, and it couldn't have taken very much effort to write (I'm assuming the author is already well familiar with pipes based on her background). The article would have been more interesting with some more technical details or experimental results - or perhaps some novel information that most people aren't aware of.
It's unfortunate. I generally tend not to comment on things I want to criticise. I love Jess's work but saw zero value come from the time spent reading that.
I think my point was more valid, in this case, given that this isn't some random person trying to contribute something, I'd have been less critical in that case and not commented, but this is Jess Frazelle. Those of us that know the name know she's an extremely skilled engineer, and _that_ is why I was disappointed at the post.
Having said that, it does seem like the author's posts seem to get upvoted no matter what by a contingent of readers. I also found TFA to be quite basic, and it couldn't have taken very much effort to write (I'm assuming the author is already well familiar with pipes based on her background). The article would have been more interesting with some more technical details or experimental results - or perhaps some novel information that most people aren't aware of.