Definitely true. In modern times we confuse understanding things with just being used to them.

I'm typing this on a smartphone. I don't conciously think of it as my "magic pane of glass" like the cliched Roman might but what's actually going on when I tap this screen is as much a mystery to me as it would be to them, at least beyond a few high-level concepts which it also wouldn't take all that much time to explain.

Every day we ride atop an unfathomable stack of abstractions and shouldn't take as much subconcious credit for this as we do. As a civilisation yes you might say we're smarter, but as individuals definitely not.

I don't think that's just a modern thing. The feeling that you understand your phone is the same as feeling you understand the hand holding it. The hand is as magical of a technology as the phone. We are deeply adapted to living with such magic.

I think if you transported the average Roman to modern times, after the initial future shock wears off, they would likely just become accustomed to technology much like any other person today who has no clue how most things work. They could learn to drive cars, use smartphones, catch flights, take medicine, etc.

They would probably even spend a lot of time talking about how things were better back in their days, and how pathetic society is now.