HTML and Me: It's not a truck, it's a series of tubes

Three weeks ago, I lacked any concrete understanding of the internet. Aside from the fact that it made my life dramatically easier, all I knew was that it existed and that, as far as I was concerned, it could be used to do pretty much anything.
Now, having spent the last few weeks working to understand the most basic of programming languages, I can honestly say that I still have no idea how it all collaborates to create what we see when we log onto a web site. I feel that I've gained an understanding of the basic tools involved, but not their functions.
Nonetheless, learning a bit about basic HTML was valuable in terms of the respect the exercise instilled. I have now learned just enough to realize that the people who actually know what they're talking about have quite the task on their hands every day.
But the lesson has also been empowering. As I easily type normal text into a text box on Blogger, I realize the advantage our generation has been given. It pains me to imagine a world where, in order to publish online, one needed to write HTML from scratch.