Calling it "poorly thought through" when you haven't taken the time to understand it is not a compelling argument.
Neither is saying the OP hasn't taken the time to understand it.
I don't understand what your saying. I said that the OP doesn't understand git basics, and that a critique based on a lack of understanding is not compelling.
Are you suggesting that I'm wrong about his level of understanding or that one can make a valid critique of something they don't understand?
I'm saying that perhaps his level of understanding is not to blame. Most responses to complaints about git are "you just don't understand." It is tiring.
I went into barnes and noble one day and picked up the Pro Git book and sat in the cafe and read it for a few hours. After that I understood git fairly well and the things the OP said show that he hasn't put forth this minimal amount of effort. I don't think a few hours of study for a power tool is too much to ask, and I think it's reasonable to dismiss the arguments of someone who clearly hasn't put forth a sincere effort to understand it.
Also, the book is available for free online http://progit.org/book/
I don't think you understand how git works. Calling it "poorly thought through" when you haven't taken the time to understand it is not a compelling argument.
"It's very easy to find yourself on no branch at all"
A branch is simply a pointer to a specific commit. If you checkout a random commit it is likely not a branch. I don't know why you find this troubling.
"It's very easy ... for a developer to believe they've committed work to a shared branch when in fact it's a private one"
Again, this is from a lack of understanding. All commits are to your local repository. It seems you haven't tried very hard to understand how git works.