1,000,000% this. If a senior engineer can’t explain it to you in a way you understand - even if you are a lot less experienced - that’s THEIR deficiency. Not yours. When this happens, it means THEY actually don’t understand it well enough.https://twitter.com/noahsussman/status/1170870234066165760 …
Not always true. To simplify it can result in a loss of nuance. Teaching is layered on prior learning, there often isn't an easy way of explaining complex elements, eg you need to understand what a table is without first having it explained it has a flat surface and some legs.