I don't know, I've heard that meme too but it doesn't track with the number of cool compiler projects on GitHub or that frontpage HN, and while the LLM thing is a lot newer, you see a ton of useful/interesting stuff at the "an individual could do this on their weekends and it would mean they fundamentally know how all the pieces fit together" type stuff.

There will always be a crowd that wants the "master XYZ in 72 hours with this ONE NEAT TRICK" course, and there will always be a..., uh, group of people serving that market need.

But most people? Especially in a place like HN? I think most people know that getting buff involves going to the gym, especially in a place like this. I have a pretty high opinion of the typical person. We're all tempted by the "most people are stupid" meme, but that's because bad interactions are memorable, not because most people are stupid or lazy or whatever. Most people are very smart if they apply themselves, and most people will work very hard if the reward for doing so is reasonably clear.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IQmOGlbdn8g

The best way to understand a car is to build a car. Hardly anyone is going to do that, but we still all use them quite well in our daily lives. In large part because the companies who build them spend time and effort to improve them and take away friction and complexity.

If you want to be an F1 driver it's probably useful to understand almost every part of a car. If you're a delivery driver, it probably isn't, even if you use one 40+ hours a week.