Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree with you in theory, but in practice, I find it really hard to get a job saying, "I'm acquainted with CS fundamentals." I once got bounced from a job interview for not knowing about a quirk of the newest XCode (less than a week old).
> I once got bounced from a job interview for not knowing about a quirk of the newest XCode (less than a week old) Sounds like they did you a favor. Who’d want to work for people like that?
Recruiters, HR and interviewers often are nothing like the culture of the people you will end up working with.
Treat everything as a potential signal, but take care not to mistake noise for signal.
Also recruitment is often about reducing false positives (avoiding bad hires), at the cost of a high number of false negatives (failing to employ suitable candidates). Try not to take it personally when they give you a no for an obviously bad reason?!