I doubt you ever understood the solid state physics, semiconductor fabrication processes, supply chain logistics, monetary policy, shipping routes, mining engineering, etc. "Knowing how things work" is a stone-age attitude.

Every domain you've enumerated is but a niche. Computing domain is a behemoth next to other domains, since computing itself is at the center of it all when the software is eating the world. Yes, they have their importance, but they are also mere bricks that built the current state of the world, next to computing becoming the mortar that holds them together. Dismissing computer illiteracy as inconsequential, (or at least comparing its importance to something like "shipping routes") in a world where computing systems are (in one way or another) everywhere, it's... just puzzling!

Obviously no one knows every detail all the way down the stack. It's not possible, but having some level of understanding of how a system operates is useful especially if you ever have to fix it yourself or explain why/how it is broken.

Obviously it's impossible to understand the whole stack. My rule of thumb is to understand at least two layers of abstraction above and below the thing I'm actively working on.

> "Knowing how things work" is a stone-age attitude.

Should we petition to rename this site to "Stone Age News" or something then?

Maybe I'm wrong but I always thought figuring out how things work was pretty core to the Hacker mentality.

It's not hard to understand the physics and fabrication.

The rest of that isn't part of how a computer works.

I do at least try to understand all of those things.

> "Knowing how things work" is a stone-age attitude.

What absolute nonsense. To openly admit to be proud of one's ignorance.