Generic MCU banter (Choosing an MCU)

So, I tend to be a little hot-headed sometimes and feel that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things.
I'll voice my opinion and recommendations and see how they fair.

I see a large number of posts asking about learning microctrollers, and I see a fair many asking to build circuit without an MCU that eventually gets pushed to a microcontroller. (MCU = Microcontroller)

First, I would start of by saying that getting a project done has different requirements than learning about MCUs....

Generic MCU banter (Choosing an MCU)