Of course, a statistician must be familiarized with the mechanical implementation of numerical techniques, but it is far more important for him/her to understand what those numerical techniques can achieve and their general principles. In order to do so, a deep understanding of several statistical paradigms is necessary - their advantages and disadvantages. The statistician must also have a clear understanding of the mathematical principles that underlie the methodologies. Again, an analogy in medicine: a medical doctor is not someone who merely knows how to automatically perform surgery or to administer antibiotics, but rather someone who knows what to do in an emergency and understands the working principles of an antibiotic and its secondary effects.