[bhahn]

The author isn't wrong. You need to learn OTP to know that you don't need it (at least in the very beginning).

When I was learning Phoenix, I spent a substantial amount of time learning Elixir as well and OTP is one of the first few things they put in front of you. Don't get me wrong, I loved learning about it personally, but I am not surprised that a lot of people would consider it too much effort.