[wesselbindt]

You're not missing something. In the original paper the proof is half a page long (and still worth a read, very low investment, decent payoff). I think the value of the CAP theorem is not so much in its statement (CP or AP, choose one), but rather in its proof. It helps you cook up similar arguments/reasonings for more interesting situations and constraints.

[dijit]

I think it’s also very interesting to point out that very often people try to choose all three but end up choosing only one inadvertently.

We should also point out that it’s not a foregone conclusion that you will even be able to achieve two of three.

CAP theorem really is a best case scenario.