Knuth hath said: "A person who is more than casually interested in computers should be well schooled in machine language, since it is a fundamental part of a co

Knuth hath said: "A person who is more than casually interested in computers should be well schooled in machine language, since it is a fundamental part of a computer." I agree with that sentiment. The whole "focus on what works" is not the same thing as "understanding what the hell you're doing."