I'm serious enough to get down to some pretty low packweights. OTOH, read my .signature - I'm not silly enough to try to cook pancakes on an esbit stove..
While counting matches *is* silly (good god, take a couple mini-bic lighters) realisticly there is nothing wrong with taking something like a tablet stove if you understand it's limitations, and are prepared to live with them. With the right "boil water and cozy" freezer bag cooking type meals your aforementioned "victim" could have been just fine.
Just as silly would be to bring a full size christmas turkey in your backpack, with only an MSR white gas stove to cook it on.. *everything has limits*
As WD and others have mentioned, most beginners aren't aware of the limitations - or perhaps not as much as they should be.
I will take the opposite view though, while I don't think a beginner should head out with a 5x8 poncho, underwear only, and no stove just to be light - I think beginners can benefit very effectively from lightweight backpacking techniques - as long as they understand what they are getting into.
I do know *many* beginners who have suffered very much from a bit too much "be prepared" - which while there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it, IMO tends to err on the side of the himilayan winter in california, rather than sensible preparedness..
I've taken beginners out with me, with 9 pounds of gear, plus food, and water, and they've been very comfortable and enjoyed themselves immensely.
Fundamentally I think there's two ways beginners leave the sport..
1) Cold, Wet, and Hungry (unprepared)
or
2) Beat up and Blistered with a heavy load (too much stuff)
I don't want to sound like a lightweight evangelist, I'm not.. but I'd be willing to bet more leave for more of #2 than #1.