The article makes some good points, but I feel that the headline is inaccurate.

It may be impossible to know everything, just as one cannot claim to know "all" of history, but one can make a bloody good go of it.

The main problem I've encountered personally is simply limits on human memory. Things fall out of your brain.

I studied semiconductors, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics etc as part of my Physics degree. I've written emulators, webapps, backend code, etc.

There are gaps. Not conceptual gaps but rather in implementation.

Could I write a top to bottom tutorial? Not without research, and undoubtedly subject matter experts would pick at it, but I believe I have some understanding about every level of the stack and an idea of where to pick that knowledge back up if I need to.

Is it useful?

I mean, surely that's for an individual to decide. Financially perhaps you'll be better off learning the hot new framework of the day and hobnobbing with the cool kids.

But then you could also get rich making wanky adtech optimisation. Or just starting a run of the mill exploity corp.

Me? I just want to know how it works, in endless fractal beauty.

I don't live my life based on what others consider to be "useful".

Not just in programming, either.