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A person doesn’t need to know how cars work to drive one. They ought to know, but it’s not technically required.
They ought to know
I'd question even that. Hardly any user knows how their phone works, so why would cars be any different? You probably should know basic maintenance but most cars tell you what they need anyway.
isnt it the other way arround people ought to know how their phones work? rellying on anything without understanding how it works is a dangerous game
Does this mean that doctors need to understand the physics of an MRI machine to use it?
Where do we draw a line here? Can we use WiFi or do we need a networking course to understand how connections are established?
What about using HTTPS, do we need to understand the inner workings of SSL to browse the web?
Note that OP made a distinction between "need" and "ought to" and I agree. You don't "need" to know any of these, but you "ought to" because knowing them TO SOME DEGREE helps you use the machine more effectively and safely. Networking course is definitely going overboard, but I still think they're important to know. I'm pretty sure doctors already do understand the basics of how MRI machines work.
Learning the basics of how WiFi works avoids people getting confused when WiFi doesn't "just exist" everywhere, or why it drops out suddenly when a lot of people are using it even if you have full bars. Learning about HTTPS and SSL lets you understand what it keeps secure and how that can keep you secure when you're e.g. banking.
That being said computers and software now are specifically designed to hide their inner workings as much as possible to simplify things for their users so it's a bit of a special case.
And where do you stop? So, you know how your phone works - but do you? Really?
Let's assume you're an Android programmer. You probably have a pretty good understanding of the OS, app ecosystem, APIs. But do you know exactly how the gyro sensor works? GPS? Inner workings of the camera? NFC? Probably not. You know what the part does and how to use its API but not how exactly it works. And that's fine, one cannot know everything.
thats a bad faith argument and we both know it
How so? I just dislike your gatekeeping. It's dangerous to not know how everything you use works? Come on, that's tech elitism.
nah its not its common sense and what does that have to do with tech elitism?
According to resources. Just some level of understanding is helpful.
Understanding physics issues like momentum, traction, and the way a car turns is important to not crashing. Otherwise you get people making poor decisions on ice.