Blender 4.02

Hi Stuart sstareagle ,

It is really un-doable to update all Courses each time a new Blender version comes out, 3 to 4 times a year.Sorry for that. Some Courses, like Fundamentals, will get updates, but not for each new Blender version.

So the advice is to use the version that is used in the tutorial, util you are comfortable enough with Blender, that you can use just about any version no matter what is used in the tutorial.

That being said, I think only 1 Shader Node (the Principled BSDF) has changed since the making of this tutorial; certainly not all the Shaders

As Spikey said, the Principled BSDF is the only shader node changed since the release of this course (Not even a year old).
And the now hidden sockets on the Principled BSDF are hardly used anyway.

There is no rule anywhere in the universe, as far as I am aware, that the latest version of Blender must and only be used.

Every Blender version is available to download.
Whilst learning think of each version as a separate tool in your tool box, selecting the tool that is best suited and most efficient to learn the lessons being taught.

Professional artists and studios don't always switch to the latest version upon release, thinking only the latest version will do as a beginner will only cause more frustration and a longer bumpy road on your Blender learning journey.

The 3d/CG concepts taught are still relevant, even if the Blender version has changed.

Yep same here, using the Blender version that was used in the course is the right way to go. You will get to a point where the Blender version is irrelevant, but in the mean time it's better to use the version the course was recorded in, since the objective is to absorb the knowledge and the discrepancy with the video will just confuse you. You're not missing anything, the core knowledge has been the same for ages, what changes is the buttons in Blender and that should be of no consequence.