Obligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1053/
While it doesn't apply to shell prompts, there are such things as cultural memory and institutional memory. As a member of a group or society, you are expected to have a certain baseline amount of knowledge of that culture and history.
When I was young, it was considered shameful not to know things. Now the people I work with seem to wear ignorance as a badge of pride. They think that not knowing something means that thing is not worth knowing. As if somehow not knowing something is a good thing.
That may be the case, due to attitudes encouraged by pop culture, etc. but it's a disastrously incorrect understanding of the comic (and parent comment). They're celebrating learning, which is the exact opposite of 'wearing ignorance as a badge of pride'.
> When I was young, it was considered shameful not to know things.
Shaming something discourages people from admitting it. A child who's ashamed to ask questions will not learn as effectively. They may learn to avoid admitting their ignorance, but that may cause problems later (struggling alone rather than asking for help, possibly leading to damage or injury, etc.).
> there are such things as cultural memory and institutional memory. As a member of a group or society, you are expected to have a certain baseline amount of knowledge of that culture and history.
How do you think the members of those groups have that knowledge? We have not (yet) evolved a genetic predisposition to grow, in utero, neuronal bundles encoding Unix shell prompt escape sequences. That's the point; everyone has all need to learn!
Still, it's better to air and discuss such takeaways!