This statement confuses a couple of different issues. Whether or not lugs are purely an aesthetic choice is one question. However, the second sentence doesn't follow from the first one. An important question to ask is whether or not what pros use is what makes sense for the average rider. Pros get new bikes every year. They usually don't even choose those themselves. For them, a few grams may be the difference between staying with the lead group on a long climb or dropping off the pace. I'm not sure what pros do or don't use goes straight to the issue of what the average (or below average, or above average) recreational rider needs and would want to ride for, say, 10 years.
That said, I agree that the use of lugs is largely on aesthetic grounds.