Exactly... Which is the basis for the old saying:
"Those who can't... Teach!"
You know, I HATE this statement. A) It suggests that teaching is not important, and is inferior to "doing" and B), that teaching is always a second choice.
What is often forgotten, is the more truthful corollary that "Those who can do.... can't teach!" Just because someone is a whiz scientist or whatever, that has no bearing on whether or not they are a good teacher. It is two different skill sets. As Piratwolf said, when the two are combined in one, it is quite glorious. Unfortunately it is not a common occurrence.
As to the benefits of knowing the science, the big plus is if something goes wrong, you have the knowledge to analyze the problem and apply a proper solution - as opposed to trial and error hoping for a fix.
I see this in the modern science lab far to often. There are lots of kits available for all kinds of procedures. You just open the kit and follow the instruction with your sample and presto, results. The kits are GREAT time savers and actually do work
most of the time. However, if it fails, and if you do not understand what is going on (what the steps actually do), then typically the recourse is simply to try it again and hope it works. Now if you actually understand what processes are going on, then you could say perhaps,"Oh, I bet my sample pH was too high, if I lower it, then it should work" The net result is people are being trained up who do not really have good problem solving skills - everything has been cookie cutter. Their response to a problem is to spend a lot more time and money to fix a problem as opposed to being able to properly analyze the problem and then quickly and cheaply solve it.
Back on topic.
Here is some great reading on the subject (and other areas too!). I believe the gist is that increased CO2 levels lead to a decrease in ester formation, and that the CO2 levels are affected by the fermentor design, with there being higher CO2 levels in the big cylindroconical fermentors.
Flavor-activeesters: Adding fruitiness to beer
Effects on Flavour of Innovations in Brewery Equipment and Processing: A Review