That animation in particular (window minimization) is 200-300ms long in most DEs, and is located on the slow/discoverable UI path that is tolerable to such delays. If you want faster speeds, you likely use the keyboard and your muscle memory and aren't likely to find yourself in a scenario where you want to minimize or maximize a window at all, since you're using the hot/low latency path through the UI (e.g. Alt-TAB or a myriad other ways). If you use a pointer, it's a rather negligible delay compared to moving it, and of course you can make it faster in the settings. UI design is about thinking such details through and measuring them, not adding useless animations to annoy power users.
Anyway, it's not the point. You're always free to disable animations if you think they're making you slow. I think too many people in the discussions about UIs are confusing quirks of particular interfaces with first principles, and are extrapolating specific experiences to the whole field.
Anyway, it's not the point. You're always free to disable animations if you think they're making you slow. I think too many people in the discussions about UIs are confusing quirks of particular interfaces with first principles, and are extrapolating specific experiences to the whole field.