Sometime the best way to why a (Chesterton's) fence is blocking the road is... to remove it and see what happens!

Sorry, not really an answer to your problem. But I feel you, this is a genuinely hard problem.

Keep in mind that, pretty often, the reason something is the way it is comes down to "no real reason", "that seemed easier at the time" or "we didnt know better". At least if you don't work on critical systems.

Money is a function of demand, availability and leverage. Value is only an indirect part of it: a factor that drives demand.

It is easy to find examples of money not being a judgement of value in practice: think about thief or extortion for example, or pushing drugs.

You can actually see the node with the naked eye. No need for slow mo: the stays put while the rest of the string looks like a blurry mess.

Is it technically true, though? The matte side has a difuse reflection, which does not mean it reflects less. It just scatters more.

Burning wood is acutally forbidden in many cities in France for this very reason.