I think the reason that people prioritize the form is because of a kind of cargo cult. The form is followed because that's how it's always been and it has worked so far. And people are scared that if the form is changed it will have unexpected consequences.
All this discussion doesn't consider the fact that papers are written for specific audience: scientists in a very narrow field. What seems to be gibberish for you is perfectly understandable for people working in that area, otherwise it wouldn't be even published in the first place. Now, it is true that it would be nice to have this translated into laymen words, but the problem is that scientists usually have better things to do...
