From: Aman <amanmatreja@gmail.com>
To: Git List <git@vger.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: On understanding, exploring and abstractions.
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2023 22:58:23 +0530 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <CACMKQb34Mk_37KhVyaj4cb1JnrZPXXmcAhE_QeV=EcF7CRVKPA@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <CACMKQb3XsPG=gnmoBdL7Eh6dV2h-LEbGHs+QpBr1g9yV+SSmRw@mail.gmail.com>
a follow up for everyone.
On Sat, Apr 22, 2023 at 9:24 PM Aman <amanmatreja@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hello everyone.
>
> This is Aman, I am a high school student. And,
>
> "I DON'T know how computers (and modern software) works AT ALL".
>
> I have no idea, except about the abstractions I play on. I understand
> the case for abstractions, they are what, (arguably or not) run the
> world forward.
>
> But it is really , And by really, I mean really frustrating. To the
> point where I don't quite enjoy programming (despite the fact that I
> have had exposure to "programming" for quite some time). I am
> fascinated by these things around me, computers run the world, and I
> REALLY want to understand them, just for the sake of it (I guess).
>
> I believe what made computers fun, in the old days, was the ability to
> really talk to it. (even Linus tells this in the "beauty of
> Programming chapter" in his book, which was written 20 years ago!)
> Even C feels like an abstraction, hey the "magic" of compilers, and
> libraries.
>
> Even people around me, and 99% of people I find on the internet, to
> discuss issues like this, too, don't know how a computer, and modern
> software (which runs the world) really works. And people seem to get
> fine by it, which is not necessarily bad, but really frustrating to
> me.
>
> And my question is, How do I do it? Should I try to build my own
> computer? Create a CPU in Verilog on an FPGA. Write an assembler,
> bootloaders, operating system kernels, compilers, etc.? But what about
> wanting to read how the modern systems work? But if I want to know how
> LLVM or Linux works? Or how a modern compiler is created?
>
> People have discouraged me to read source codes, and software
> architectures, saying it may not be worthwhile, even IF you could do
> it. So what could be done?
>
> Maybe, the right question isn't what to do, but why do I want to, so
> perhaps we can systematically deduce what to do about it. So why? I
> guess, if you see life as a playground, and I have come into this
> world, I'd be an interesting task to learn how it all works. This may
> be a bad idea, and I am open to others. Since nobody I have met, yet,
> has expressed something like this, I don't know if I am living in a
> rock (probably I am anyway).
>
> But learning how a computer (like your phone) works from scratch,
> isn't that interesting, and not knowing, down right frustrating to
> anyone reading this email? Or is it just me for some reason?
>
> And it goes both ways right? , even if I create a simple compiler,
> it'll still be a simple one. Won't it be more interesting to work on
> things that I might use, and others might get value from too.
>
> So this is the dilemma of an 18 year old, confused about what to do about it.
>
> (btw, If you reading this, are a hardware person, making chips or
> something, do you feel like a king/queen? since everyone builds on top
> of what you do)
>
> Regards,
> Aman
prev parent reply other threads:[~2023-04-24 17:28 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 2+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2023-04-22 15:54 On understanding, exploring and abstractions Aman
2023-04-24 17:28 ` Aman [this message]
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