This sort of fits with your analogy. When I did my Manufacturing Engineering degree all I was interested in was CNC, CAD/CAM and rapid prototyping tools that e

This sort of fits with your analogy. When I did my Manufacturing Engineering degree all I was interested in was CNC, CAD/CAM and rapid prototyping tools that existed before modern 3D printing. After a career completely unrelated to manufacturing I've come back to basic metalwork as a hobby. What interests me is working with non-computer driven tools like lathes and mills. What really surprises me is how much can be achieved just with hand tools like saws, files and chisels. I have books on filing as a way to shape metal by hand. This is worth knowing because sometimes it's sometimes the quickest way get something done. Especially, when the first part of an alternative process would be "order tool X from the internet". So it goes with solving problems with software. It's sometimes quicker to implement something I learnt on my second degree in CS than to spend time searching to see if a well supported library covers exactly what's needed for a very specific, temporary use-case.