I disagree. Understanding how users use your software and what they are trying to accomplish with it is important, and it is not always obvious why a user is asking for a particular feature without asking. Furthermore, when you learn what the user is trying to accomplish with the feature they are asking for you may realize that there is a better way of providing that functionality rather than the specific approach the user requested.

I think the two of you are mostly in agreement. I believe mikecane is talking about someone that believes their mental model of users' needs, desires, and expectations is complete, and is using the question as a way to shut down a feature, with the implication being "if the reason someone might want X is not immediately obvious to me, it must not exist."

I don't think he was talking about someone that acknowledges that their understanding of users is incomplete and wants to learn more.

Yes. As an example, Jobs putting actual typefaces into the original Mac. Anyone used to the existing computing paradigm back then would have asked, "Why would a user want that?" Another infamous example is the marketeers at CompuServe thinking the CB Simulator was a bad idea -- and today we have something like it, called Twitter.

Why is Twitter a good idea? It's clearly an idea that's achieved traction with a userbase, but what is it about Twitter that makes it a "good" idea?

People like to chat with other people in real time. CompuServe's CB Simulator was a huge money draw for them (back then you paid per minute of connect-time).

That's how I understood it too, and I completely agree with it.

Yet this environment created the iPad and propelled Apple to near-unprecedented success. It's not as simple as that—cutting features is often as important as adding features.

Yes, it can be tricky, but sometimes what gets cut is the stuff that professionals with a deeper understanding of their field require. Ask any pro photographer about iOS Photos not using metadata (I don't know if that's still the case, but it once was). The example in that post is a great one, it seems to me. Something that seems extraneous but really makes a real difference in the user's ability to get things properly done with a minimum of friction.

Oh my!

CLUELESS_BOB PHB "Hey, can you do this for the project?"

CLUEFUL_ANN DEV "Well, I could do that, but the question I want to ask is 'Why the hell would anyone want that?'".

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See also the confusing non-match between password echoing in gui or command line environments. Someone needs to ask "Why would a user want to do that?" and then get it done.