Hi Brian. Yes, the lack of knowledge is inexcusable - but sadly more than rare. I support this kind of article because it promotes discussion about a topic that is so basic that it is "assumed knowledge" among most pilots. But on every occasion that I've had a flight test candidate suffer a real ignition or electrical related difficulty in flight, he or she has failed to address it correctly. So perhaps this kind of article needs to be published occasionally to remind aero club pilots of the basics.
The article should have had a more comprehensive error-correction sidebar.
Cheers, O8