> To me, it just shift ups the level of understanding rather than replaces it.

This just sounds like convoluted way of saying you understanding much less than you would otherwise.

Seems like an odd criticism given that programming has always been about abstraction. But sure, I don’t know tree-level details (functions) but I also wasn’t doing leaf-level (bits) understanding because that became obsolete. Now I’m on forest level and expanding to eco systems.

You can always know more but at a certain point, after you’ve built enough validation and safe guards, you find it’s not the best use of your time and the things you can make beyond your specialization is quite remarkable.

Also, I think the toothpaste isn’t going back in the tube with this