Mechanical sympathy

I recently stumbled across the term "mechanical sympathy" via a (now-deleted) blog post on Luke Kuzmish's blog, and it really stuck with me. In short, it describes that the degree to which you understand something dictates how efficiently and effectively you can use it. Or, in the words of Wikitionary:

The concept that someone can use a tool or system most effectively when they have a deep understanding of how it works.

In his post, Luke explained this with a dishwasher as an example. Loading the dishwasher with the cups and glasses rightside-up will leave you with dirty cups full of water at the end of the cycle. If you understand that the water is shot up from the rotating arm at the bottom, you'll load them upside down so that the soap can clean them out, and the water drains automatically.

Since reading about it, I see this concept show up everywhere:

• I understand how websites work, so I can more effectively navigate most websites and know how to do some basic troubleshooting if something goes wrong.
• I understand how a wheelbarrow works, so I can efficiently move heavy things from A to B.
• I understand (at a basic level) how the Maillard reaction works, so I can cook my chicken nice and crispy while maintaining a juicy interior.
• I understand how LLMs and modern-day "AI" works, so I can use it to make me more productive at work.
• ...

Taking some time to understand how something works is one of the most valuable things you can do with your time, especially if you use that something often.