Hence the whole point of the article. We've reduced our UIs down to minimal friction ("easy to read") where, like creating a drawing, a higher friction ("harder") interface could well be more rewarding.
I think it ends up proving the opposite. I did not feel like scrolling through all this pointless flair was in any sense rewarding. Quite the opposite, it's distracting enough to be annoying, so if anything, it feels like a counterpoint to the message in the text.