Tough crowd. At least he's trying to learn.
I once took a forum beating for suggesting that a serious cyclist should, at minimum, know how to do basic maintenance on his bike (apply lube, how to change a flat, how to turn a barrel adjuster...etc). Edit to add: The general theme of that thread was that the better rider you were the less you should be expected to know. Pros weren't even expected to know how to open a skewer. Rediculous if you ask me.
Apparently everybody is different.