I sometimes think of Computer Science (in the classical theoretical sense---and Knuth is a towering figure in that domain) as having a similar relationship wit

I sometimes think of Computer Science (in the classical theoretical sense---and Knuth is a towering figure in that domain) as having a similar relationship with programming as that of Mathematics to Engineering. A basic foundation in the theoretical background is very helpful, possibly essential, to professional work, but a deep understanding of theory is unnecessary. That said, those engineers that have a deeper mathematical foundation can realize important benefits to the quality of their work. Similarly, a rich immersion in abstract computer science is not necessary to programming, but its presence can be of great value. Being aware that a given programming problem maps to a well-understood class of algorithms with known performance and correctness enables elegant solutions.