Very well said. This was the point I was trying to convey, but you did it better ;)
Anyway, I think programmers think too much in black and white. There are people that say you never need to know how the computer works. Then the rest say that you always need to think about how the computer works. The reality is somewhere in the middle. There have been a few cases in my programming career where knowing how the hardware actually worked was helpful. But it was never critical, just good to know.
(Another similar area is data structures. Yes, it's good to know how merge sort and quick sort and B+ trees work. That direct knowledge has helped me a number of times, either because I needed my own tree or because thinking about how merge sort worked helped me solve a related problem. But the other 99% of the time, I'm not thinking about sorting or the tree balancing algorithm. I just use libraries. So theoretically, it's possible to write good programs without knowing that stuff.)
Yeah, but think about what you're saying: the dichotomy you're drawing here between "essential" knowledge and "helpful" knowledge is precisely that between the skills of a merely adequate developer and a great hacker.
Sure, an IT wonk can churn out working software. But they'll never aspire to build the world's next great startup. Have some standards, man. You can't be a true hacker if you're cutting corners like this. :)
Anyway, I think programmers think too much in black and white. There are people that say you never need to know how the computer works. Then the rest say that you always need to think about how the computer works. The reality is somewhere in the middle. There have been a few cases in my programming career where knowing how the hardware actually worked was helpful. But it was never critical, just good to know.
(Another similar area is data structures. Yes, it's good to know how merge sort and quick sort and B+ trees work. That direct knowledge has helped me a number of times, either because I needed my own tree or because thinking about how merge sort worked helped me solve a related problem. But the other 99% of the time, I'm not thinking about sorting or the tree balancing algorithm. I just use libraries. So theoretically, it's possible to write good programs without knowing that stuff.)