Today my professor and I were discussing hidden files, and he mentioned how some system files were hidden. When I asked why, he likened it to using a safe, that the developers of Windows wanted to keep certain files hidden to protect them from other people accessing them or exploiting it.
My question regards how system32 is easily accessible by anyone. I can easily go into the C: drive and mess around with system32. I'm sure plenty of you have heard of a "prank" in which people (typically stupid) would believe that one way to speed up a computer would be to get rid of system32, which would effectively turn your computer into a very efficient paperweight. I'm sure there are also users who would assume "I don't see any of my Pictures or Documents in this system32 file; must be useless I guess".
Why would the developers then easily expose system32? In what context would an average user really need system32, to warrant the developers of Windows to leave it easily exposed? From what someone else had told me, Windows used to keep system32 files hidden, but now they don't anymore. Is this true?