Why do so many people equate "technical proficiency" with artistic talent or merit?

Specifically: why does "technical skill" seem to equal artistic merit or value in the minds of average people??? As opposed to the conveyance of emotion, raw spiritual power, or just plain originality? E.g., I'm amazed by how many people relentlessly compare Kurt Cobain to Joe Satriani or Jimi Hendrix...I mean, WTF? Is there some way to even compare them? Why people erting themselves as patrons of the arts/music continue calling the man who wrote and recorded Nevermind and In Utero a "sh*t guitarist," "hardly a guitar player," and "less than technically proficient" is beyond me. Am I to understand that, today, technical ability trumps artistic sensibility? Or is everyone else a complete f-ing idiot?