because goodness knows in these troubling times, our society needs to concentrate our technological progress into the betterment of movie special effects, and a better cost structure for producers of action blockbusters.

Players who get miffed when others don't follow Basic Strategy are just trying to feel superior. (Hmm, just like people who post on Slashdot, including you and me?)

It really is all a wash. If you're on first base (first player to be dealt to) and the count is negative (the composition of the remaining cards is unfavorable to all the players) then if everybody after you hits a 20, you should be happy because by taking cards they are bringing the deck back towards neutral or favorable after you've played but before your next bet, which is precisely what you want. In that situation their (provably) incorrect play is improving the odds for you. But of course over time their incorrect play is just as likely to hurt your odds, so you might as well give your blood pressure a break, because it will probably improve your counting.
All of this is true even if you play perfect Basic Strategy but you don't bother to count.