I think you're reading too much into the phrase "rattle off". By that I simply meant that the interviewee should know those things well enough to answer correct

I think you're reading too much into the phrase "rattle off". By that I simply meant that the interviewee should know those things well enough to answer correctly and confidently. And it still amazes me that this position seems to be controversial here on HN. There are people who have expressed unequivocal agreement, to be sure, but a significant number seem to see that stuff as obscure arcana that a developer would not typically need to know.