[andai]

I was thinking today that there is no longer a forcing function for knowing how a computer works. I think that went away in the 90s.

People who got into programming in the 80s generally learned assembly because it was the only way to get the job done (BASIC being too slow for games and graphics).

They don't generally use assembly much anymore, but often still rely on that knowledge (checking the disassembly).

This ability is no longer forced by the environment, nor is it taught. So the last few generations of programmers did not learn how a computer works.