See this page as a slide show

Understanding

Surface knowledge

• For some things, a surface-level knowledge is good enough.
• For example, almost everyone can use a television, without understanding how the images are transmitted, through electromagnetic waves or a cable.
• Understanding how cable tv works doesn’t really enhance the viewing experience, as long as you know how to:
  • turn it on
  • change the channel
  • change the volume
  • etc.

A bit deeper

• I can drive a car about as well as my father could.
• I know little about the workings of cars.
• Dad, on the other hand, was an automotive engineer.
• If the car breaks down:
  • Jack would call for help.
  • Dad would have a fair chance of fixing the car.
• Sometimes, deeper knowledge helps.

Levels

• Psychologist: I understand human emotions.
• Doctor: You understand nothing! I know the areas of the brain.
• Neurologist: You understand nothing! I know how neurons work.
• Chemist: You understand nothing! I know how chemical interactions work.
• Physicist: You understand nothing! I know how sub-atomic particles work.
• …

Correct Levels

• So, what’s the correct level of understanding?
• It varies, but it’s generally a bit deeper than everyday use.
• For example, it’s difficult to understand Linux filesystem hard links without knowing what an inode is.
• Sure, you can just memorize that it’s /bin/bash and not /bash/bin, but once you understand that the /bin directory contains programs, you know that it can only be /bin/bash.