TB, Yosef hatazadik also knew many languages, and if he sounded like a total shlemiel, I doubt anyone would have taken his eitzahs seriously.
Also the Sanhedrin had to know a lot of math for the cheshbonos of kiddush hachodesh. I believe I read in one sefer (possibly the Even Shleima on the GRA) that one who is too simple (temimusdig) to be matzliach in the secular world, will be too temimusdig to be matzliach in milchemsa shel Torah.
Many years ago, we lost a lot of frum kids because all the Rebbes had just come over from Europe and couldn’t speak a decent English and didn’t know about sports, etc. Then a generation of regular American, English-speaking role models emerged in chinuch, and many kids were very inspired to Shmiras Hamitzvos. Now it seems we are going back to European style, a generation later.