Quote - Well, it doesn't have to take tons of my time. Most of the equations needed I know already and it's just a matter of choosing parameter values.  You show me the prop, I show you the formula. 

I have dozens of shaders for glass, metal, plastic, paint, wood, china, nylon, leather, cloth, granite, marble, ceramic, clay, mud, blood, water, oil, etc. Assuming you have need of these sorts, they are pretty much instant. It's just a matter of choosing color and shine. Others besides me could try different parameters and show the results.

The tricky stuff is generating procedural patterns - such as the fish scales in my avatar or the chain mail I posted years ago. That takes a while.

And probably Matmatic. As in: Python formulas.

I guess this "intent-based" approach was originally an analysis sort of thing. But when you think it's all about people totally not having a clue what they're doing and making something that happens to look reasonably good and believable to THEM in that set of lights, I really can see the point of "why bother". Just put a shader that actually works there and be done with it.

Monterey/Mint21.x/Win10 - Blender3.x - PP11.3(cm) - Musescore3.6.2

Wir sind gewohnt, daß die Menschen verhöhnen was sie nicht verstehen
[it is clear that humans have contempt for that which they do not understand] 

Metaphor of Chooks