I see this quite a lot. There are people going places and doing thing on boats (think Bumfuzzles) that would never have done so if they had to learn "real" navigation to do it. That is good in some ways (more people participate) but bad in others: the average navigational IQ of cruising sailors had dropped - significantly - as a result. A large percentage of cruisers that I have met cannot answer even pretty basic navigational questions. Electronics make it happen with little knowledge and no work. That's progress - kids can't drive a stick shift anymore, etc. And why bother, you don't need to know any of that stuff any more?

The problem with a lack of underlying knowledge is that in unusual situations not contemplated by your favorite charting software vendor (or maybe you didn't buy that option) you are helpless. You have abrogated your responsibility to a snot nosed programmer geek living in Wichita who has never seen the ocean. I think it is undeniable that one who understands all the intricacies of traditional navigation methods is better able to interpret anything the electronic chart plotter coughs up - particularly when the situation is less than routine.