> Most don't know that (I am one who does) and I never hear it advocated that they should.

You and me must not be hanging out in the same circles. I hear it advocated all the time. You can't claim to understand how CPUs work if you can't design a simple CPU. Just as you can't claim to understand how compilers work if you can't design a simple compiler. The inevitable objection to this line of thinking is, where does it end? Should you also have to study device and semiconductor physics to understand how computers work? Yes, you probably should, but you can terminate this recursion any time you feel you're not learning anything sufficiently enlightening or helpful compared to other things you could be learning.