I think I get what you're saying here. You don't "need" to know this to write code. Which is true - heck, you don't "need" to know how a tcp/ip connection works, or how disk storage works. But one day you might.
When you put fuel in your car and you turn the ignition and step on the gas, the wheels move. So all you need to know is where the fuel goes and how to turn the ignition and where the gas pedal is. But one day, I guarantee you, the wheels will stop moving.
When your boss storms up to your desk and says "Why aren't the god damn wheels moving?! We're losing ad revenue every minute!!", I hope Code Review Guy is around to tell you how fuel injectors work.
You know, I have a really hard time imagining a situation where your boss storms up to your desk and says "Why aren't the goddamn wheels moving? We're losing ad revenue every minute!!" and you reply "Aww goddamn, I forgot to account for DRAM refresh cycle."
There's knowing how fuel injectors work, and there's knowing how copper crystal in the wire admits an energy band for free electrons.
The point isn't to know the answer to every problem. The point is to be educated enough to even have a guess as to where to start looking for the problem, and then start trying to figure out the answer.
When you put fuel in your car and you turn the ignition and step on the gas, the wheels move. So all you need to know is where the fuel goes and how to turn the ignition and where the gas pedal is. But one day, I guarantee you, the wheels will stop moving.
When your boss storms up to your desk and says "Why aren't the god damn wheels moving?! We're losing ad revenue every minute!!", I hope Code Review Guy is around to tell you how fuel injectors work.