An analogy:

Jimi Hendrix never learned to read music. He did not know how to 'construct a chord'. He had no music theory training. He just made music, and learned what he needed along the way to make the music he wanted. He did this from scratch in less than 12 years (ages 15 to 27).

TL;DR: computer science and 'building things' are two different things. Let your urge to build things and your interests guide what and how you learn, not academic traditions.