UNIX isn't dominant in the areas you mention now either (no, Android isn't UNIX). It has a niche among free software users and in networking devices but it is not common in other areas.
I.e. your "decades of useful outcomes" argument doesn't favor the point you are making because the opposite philosophy (a more verbose userland) has many times more "useful outcomes". Therefore, according to your own logic (which I don't subscribe to because I think popularity is a useless measure of sound design) you "should stop and ask yourself whether it's just a matter of taste on your side or, even more likely, of ignorance."
So what? Is desktop computing all that matters? Networking, scientific computing, mobile telephone, don't they matter?
Unix was never meant for looking magic to clueless users; it was meant for programmers, i.e. for people who use the computer and not just some programs written by other people. And, in its realm, it has been brilliant! Not perfect, but very good!
By the way, here's a link to learn something more: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/wsl/