Fantastic article. I like to think of this phenomenon with a positive spin though.. I can use the Jenks algorithm without understanding anything about how it works, just plug it in and go. And with a few test cases I can even port it to a new language without really understanding it. I admire Tom's work in digging in and doing it right, but as a journeyman programmer I like that I can just use it without really understanding it. Sometimes cargo cults work.