Yes. you learn more from doing thinks manually than by just pressing a button for an automatic solution. And your creativity still beats the algorithm in some cases. But for standard works tools like “Grid Fill” make your CG life a lot easier.
In a book about digital modeling written by William Vaughan, the author tells the story of a student who was waiting for a certain functionality to be added to his CG program before he would be able to create a certain model. Mr. Vaughan heard of this student never again … A good CG artist according to Mr. Vaughan is someone who solves problems with the (limited) tools he’s got and who doesn’t wait for a “Do-my-job-button” to be implemented 😉.