So yeah, maybe it's just that the landlords had an IQ of 170 a century and half ago, whereas now they have "just" 70.
But also no. Modern architects think they're so much smarter than architects of a century ago, solely on the basis of living later, as the article describes. They think they could do the same greatness effortlessly, whereas when they actually try, they usually fall flat on their face. Turns out, it was actually quite hard even with appropriate practice, and without said practice it's often impossible to just build a nicely-looking house.
I don't need to know how to grow crops, weave a shirt, or wire a plug - those things have been mechanised and automated.
Would someone from 200 years ago trade having to gather firewood for flicking a switch for instant heat? Absolutely!
Would you trade access to Wikipedia for having to travel to a monastery in order to look up a scrap of information? Unlikely!
Other lifestyles needn’t be romanticized more than our own, but they also don’t need to be demonized. Keeping yourself safe and fed isn’t a big stress for most people through most of history, yet does get quite hard for some people some times even now. The difference is mostly just textural.