I don't think you can* paint PhDs with such a broad brush. It largely depends on their field of expertise. A (say) complexity theory PhD is indeed unlikely to b

I don't think you can* paint PhDs with such a broad brush. It largely depends on their field of expertise. A (say) complexity theory PhD is indeed unlikely to be out of touch with reality, but a systems-oriented one is likely to have a pretty decent knowledge of practical aspects of programming. Being a PhD student myself, I am of course biased on this. But it's frustrating to be generalized as an out-of-touch ivory tower type when that is simply not the case. * Of course you can. But should you?