As someone who is trying to learn those sorts of things, thanks for the explanation. In my experience in trying to learn this stuff, I have to say, I can't say

As someone who is trying to learn those sorts of things, thanks for the explanation. In my experience in trying to learn this stuff, I have to say, I can't say the young people around me are trying to do the same. I think they're of the mindset where they just want to solve their problem, and whatever gets it done with the least hassle is 'good enough.' The truth of the matter is that they're generally right. Computing resources are so expansive that for a lot of problems are of small enough n, that people ignorant of data structures and algorithms get by just fine. Just using decent DS & algorithms will get people the speed boost they need most of the time in the higher level languages. If you're really in a pickle, you break into C. When I was working as a web developer, I never saw someone other than myself actually get down to the C level. They just bought more machines and scaled that way. This stuff is fast becoming something of a lost art, but there will always be domains where it is necessary. I happen to think that's an interesting place, but the trend in development is well away from it in most other domains as it climbs up the abstraction ladder. EDIT: I'll just add that I've seen the ignorance of these things (just at the algo level even) leave money on the table. I think people worship at the table of 'cycles are cheap' a bit too much sometimes and discount hardware and maintenance costs a little too readily. It's a balancing act.