> Obviously it's not a strict, always 100% true example, but it's
> definitely a strong, observable trend

I empathise with your sentiments in some ways. As technology
progresses and people's expectations increase, the attraction of
high-performance turnkey off-the-shelf products is hard to resist,
and you need to have no idea how it works. Those without an
interest in electronics would say it's unnecessary. Although the
technology and applications are so sophisticated, I feel that the
use of these pre-packaged solutions counts towards 'dumbing
down' and shorter attention spans. Just my opinion. The eye
always flicks to something shiny and glittery

I'd compare it with home recording studios. Anybody with a
PC can call themself a 'musician', even the most mediocre and
untalented

But it does provide a means of expression and accomplishing
an end, much as the Arduino does

Times change, the last 20 years probably faster than most. There
is just so much to keep up with now at the bleeding edge, never
mind trying to learn the underlying electronics as well. I try to be
aware, but my preference is still to get the best I can out of the
basic technology I know. Which isn't that basic compared with
20 years ago

Of course, in the good old days when we were just tea boys and
good reel-to-reel machines cost a small fortune and if you wanted
an S-100 you had to make it yourself and you could tinker with the
car engine in the drive on a Saturday morning with a screwdriver and
a wrench and young orphan boys were used as chimney brushes .........

--=20
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