It's as clever as a phonebook. Better now?

I know what you're getting at, and I agree DNS is simple for folks who hang out in HN but at its core DNS is pretty complicated.

Try explaining top level authoritives, ttl, DoH etc etc to a lay person. Yes, it is example.com in, a.b.c.d out but it is anything but simple.

My larger point is calling "phone book" doesnt make DNS dumb.