Lindsay

Long time, no see. Hope that you’re doing well.

"It’s just that I very much doubt if the reader will notice the difference between ‘true’ and ‘scaled’ small caps in common text fonts sizes."

True. And I also doubt that diners will notice the pinch of salt or the oh-so-gentle squeeze of lemon the expert chef adds to his dish.

I certainly underhand where you’re coming from; however, typography (like pretty much anything) is comprised of details—oftentimes apparently inconsequential minutiae. A good type designer will take care to position, shape and size even the smallest of elements (the tittle in the lowercase i, the shape, size, and position of a comma or period; manually adjust thousands of kerning pairs). The constituent elements combine to aid to the maximum the reader’s comprehension of the text..

Most people, most of the time will remain oblivious to the detail (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing), for when the detail is conceived as a constituent part of the whole, then it will not distract or hinder comprehension and legibility. Yesterday, I spent some time looking at single Lilly (Amaryllis belladonna) in a plain unglazed vase; the petals were infused with a feint blush of pink, the filaments (stems) of the stamina terminated with beautifully ‘crafted’ anthers (serifs) dusted with mustard and yellow ochre pollen; myriad other details coalesced into an exquisitely beautiful whole. Most will appreciate the beauty of the Lilly; few will notice the ‘minor’ details; but that does not make them extraneous.

Moreover, the pride of a craftsmen (in this instance a typographer or type designer) comes into play, but that too, I’m sure you’re cognizant of.