There's a danger too in having too simple a model of how a CPU works in your head. It doesn't scale well to how a real modern CPU really works. I see this a lot

There's a danger too in having too simple a model of how a CPU works in your head. It doesn't scale well to how a real modern CPU really works. I see this a lot with developers who have a very oversimplified mental model of how memory management works, and more so with networking. Even if you do have an accurate appreciation for how a particular system functions, it can be dangerous to overly rely on that functioning - it means your software becomes tied to a particular CPU architecture, or network topology - and you don't get to take advantage of advances in the field. Sometimes it is better to build your software on the assumption that underlying technology is a provider of black boxed services, and that over time the way in which those services are provided might change.