Planning: Once the realm of mathematicians and engineers, Boolean algebra is simply a way of expressing the functionality of logical circuits using symbols.

Long ago, before the days of computerized logic simulators, the only way to check out a logical circuit was to build it... with soldering irons and wire and stuff. We learned to work out the problems before-hand on paper using Boolean algebra.

Has it gone the way of the slide rule (see inset)? No, the symbols are still useful for conveying logical concepts on paper.

inset:
Slide Rule -- A wooden bar with a sliding thing and a cursor. You place the cursor over two point three five pi while moving the slider back under the square root of the numerator on the log-log-2 scale... oh wait a minute, I have a pocket calculator.