I don't think the premise is undeserved. SQL IS the center of the database universe. If we use SQL to mean the general concept of relational databases, then it is true across even more dimensions of the universe.
Relational databases and sql should be considered the pride and joy of computer science AND software engineering (with logic and math being the grand parents in this increasingly confused and mixed metaphor).
I think the current confusion is due to the fact that relational databases are too often thought of as data stores. It is true that these DBs are not always the best solution. Sometimes it is better to store data in various NoSQL databases. Sometimes it is even better to store data in a flat file.
However, relational databases provide unprecedented ability to query information. Imagine one person puts data into a black box. 100 other people can ask it questions which were never intended by the original designer, and the system is able to answer those questions fairly efficiently.
The language used to query is orders of magnitude simpler than 'normal' programming languages.
If you query your database and the answer takes too long, you can add an index and the exact same query will start running more quickly!
Two different people can create two different tables. A third person can come in and 'join' these two tables.
I see nosql being a low level technology, higher than blocks/files/b-trees but lower than relational databases. Another way to say it is that relational algebra is the theoretical model while large parts of modern nosql tools are implementation details.
"LOL. It's the only formally proven, mathematically correct representation and querying of data sets."
Someone led you down the garden path.
There is absolutely no proof that RDBMS is objectively correct in any meaningful sense whatsoever. Did someone invent an arbitrary standard to measure it by, and then prove that it met that standard? Sure. But that's a far cry from a claim that RDBMS's are somehow "formally proven." That's just pure mathematical silliness and marketing propaganda.
Relational databases and sql should be considered the pride and joy of computer science AND software engineering (with logic and math being the grand parents in this increasingly confused and mixed metaphor).