I have to agree with you. Having started life using PHP, Python, Ruby, etc... I had no idea what memory management even was. I think learning the hard fundament

I have to agree with you. Having started life using PHP, Python, Ruby, etc... I had no idea what memory management even was. I think learning the hard fundamental languages like C and Assembly (HLA) are super important - C is easily the most influential language of our time (I'll get slapped for this, but do know that I actually don't like C, I would rather use D, but C is so widely used and pretty much every important program has - at least - /some/ C in it). I also agree, knowing syntax is very different from working in the language at a production level for five years. Syntax, idiom, paradigm, and culture are all hugely important - some of those things are remarkably subtle for certain languages and only get picked up after being slapped by the more experienced programmers of that language!