Interesting point. I think an analogy that many people can appreciate is that one's knowledge of a language and libraries plays the same role in programming that one's knowledge of mathematics plays when learning physics in school. If you're struggling with the math, you aren't able to devote much thought to the physics you're supposed to be learning. I understood the principle very well in school and always made sure to refresh my knowledge of the required math skills before tackling my physics work, but I haven't applied it to programming as well as I should. Food for thought.