You possibly do not need to know how a car engine works to be a good driver, though knowledge of it is not a waste by the way.
The merit system is like a car, you necessarily do not need to know how it works to be able to amass alot of it, like all you need in a car is to learn how to drive, in the merit system, all you need is to learn how to make good quality posts, and you have merits raining on you like Facebook and Twitter likes.
But like I already said before, knowing how the system works is not a wasted knowledge by the way.