[btschaegg]

Not that I'm disagreeing with you there, but I've also seen the opposite. I've had conversations with people who know their mainframe environment inside out but have no idea how a modern computer really works.

I'm under the impression that it often comes down to a combination of Dunning Kruger and a certain unwillingness to inform oneself about "new" things (i.e. things one doesn't know about yet) - and those seem to exist in both camps. So, just maintaining Aristotle's mindset and keeping an open mind seems like a good starting point to me in that regard.