i went into the essay with your comments in mind, but had trouble figuring out what viewpoint he presents that one could be partisan about. :) but i guess that's because i just read the essay as being about the taxonomy and especially about his rule of thumb (you can only use magic to solve problems to the extent that the readers understand how magic works). do you disagree with his rule of thumb? (i think it's an excellent one).

i find myself thinking about it in terms of mystery novels: you can totally end your mystery with "oh, it turned out the butler had an evil twin, ha ha" but some readers will feel cheated. similarly, coming up with a new magic rule that solves everything strikes me the same way.