A motor that runs at a constant speed all the time can last basically forever. Starting and stopping puts way more stress on the mechanical parts.
Same reason I hate how modern hard drive enclosures force the hard drive to shut down after a period of inactivity. With a lot of workloads it will keep spinning up, stopping, and spinning up again which is a great way to kill the motor.
A motor that runs at a constant speed all the time can last basically forever. Starting and stopping puts way more stress on the mechanical parts.
Same reason I hate how modern hard drive enclosures force the hard drive to shut down after a period of inactivity. With a lot of workloads it will keep spinning up, stopping, and spinning up again which is a great way to kill the motor.
I think the meme is more in reference to the dust that collects on the fan blades, not the mechanical component wear.