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I think you missed the point of the post you're replying to. What's the reason that you feel that you want to understand the "real technologies" that run the web? So that you can build better apps with those technologies, right?

So, what you really want to do is just build some apps, not learn CSS. See the difference?

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If we had been talking about means vs. ends, I would agree.

However, we were talking about knowing HTML and CSS vs. knowing abstractions built on top of them. In that context I didn't interpret the post I replied to the same way that you did.

The person you were replying to did emphasized "wants to" vs "have to" though - so I think they were trying to insert the point about means vs ends. Anyway, whoever was trying to make that point - I think it's been made (however painfully).

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