Starfleet UX designers learned that if they didn't make some bridge consoles explode, captains would ignore damage until the shields failed.

@LoganDice

"...okay, now run that fragile plasma conduit right up into this console, and then that one..."

engineering in the future is a fucking riot

@LoganDice
instrument panels on ships of the other races explode too, just with a higher rate of fatality and worse maiming, the real reason the starfleet ones still explode and throw people back is that they solved the problem ages ago, but the behavior is kept for legacy reasons.