Scratched my head on this for a while.
It's a fantastic analogy, but the use of interrupts is a good idea when it comes to rotary encoders, hall sensors, and other deceives that need to record at high speed. Some of this stuff is available in libraries, but I don't think it all is, or that it covers all needs.
Learning how to properly handle interrupts is probably a good thing for anyone doing this for more than one project or more than one class to fill a degree requirement, but it is not absolutely necessary by any stretch.