USB 4 is mostly Thunderbolt 3 but without Intel determining whether you can use the name. (There's some differences, but most devices seem to use them interchangeably).
The second link shows exactly how USB 4 is not Thunderbolt, and why Apple can't use Thunderbolt with the new Macs.
Wheh my Boomer parents first got computers as adults, the number of radically different cables with the same connectors (especially DB9 or DB25) on the end was dizzying, as well as the set of different connectors, and remembering what each was for (or attaching tape and labelling whatever wasn’t the most common function with the same combination of connectors) was the norm. That's also been true (though the set of common connectors has evolved) for most Gen-X and early “Oregon Trail generation” Millenials.
“Almost every cable is USB A to USB micro-B and fully interchangeable” was such a narrow slice of time that it's really only going to dominate your parents experience if they were late Millenials or early Gen-Z.
No one wants USB C as permanent solution but the alternative hasn't worked out.