Exactly. Even knowing a small bit of SQL (i.e. enough to know the full scope of what SQL can give you so you grok the limits of your ability) is a super power c

Exactly. Even knowing a small bit of SQL (i.e. enough to know the full scope of what SQL can give you so you grok the limits of your ability) is a super power compared to using ORMs. The right views, applied in the right places are like a super power compared to trying to do the same thing in application code.