I think you do benefit, and I think having at least a grasp of the concepts does make you a better programmer. However, I don't believe every programmer does n

I think you do benefit, and I think having at least a grasp of the concepts does make you a better programmer. However, I don't believe every programmer does need to understand complexity theory from a formalized perspective. I'll tie a loose analogy to a musician who cannot read sheet music, yet can still be a maestro. I think that sometimes some people just think a certain way, even if they (or others) cannot really explain it. But I think that merely scratches the surface of a deeper issue. Bob (in his analogy) can be a perfectly serviceable programmer for many years and create many good things. But Bob may never reach his true potential because he didn't take the time to grasp the fundamental concepts about what he was telling the computer to do, or how the computer behaved when he did them. Because Bob never truly understands computational complexity, maybe Bob never reaches his true potential.