Hungry for Knowledge

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cyrusroe

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Hi guys, ever since I taught myself to built my computer I find that I want to understand more as time goes on and I'm getting to a point where I really wanna understand every facet of a computer system down to the programming and how it relates to software talking to the rest of the hardware. I wanna educate myself on how many computer languages are out there as well as understanding what certain computer languages do and what applications they are used for.

I feel like the only thing I know in terms of where to start is that I have to somehow educate myself in the overall field of Computer Science, which to my understanding is a lot more than just programming as many people mistake it for.

Are there any good books on Computer Science that can teach me the very basics of how a computer works, hopefully a book that could provide lots of real life comparisons that are easy to understand and relate real life concepts to how computers work.

I think the most basic thing I understand about computers is the fact that binary code is a way of telling an electrical switch to turn on and off and that SOMEHOW through that amazing process we are able to produce special effects in movies and little red flaming jumping guys on computer screens that look like this :hotbounce

Basically, And I know this is a gross exaggeration ,I wanna be able to understand it to the point where if i had enough money and time, I could create my own computer hardware and software from scratch.

I very much look forward to a reply and thanks in advance !
 
get ahold of some old machines and mess around until you've got a good understanding of computers, then build yourself a modern system. i've come a long way from fixing that ancient HP desk calculator and modding my steel 486 case, but it didn't happen quick. and while you're learning, get into linux! in the 90's thomas pabst, the founder of tom's hardware guide made a book of the same title. it should really help you along, even if it's out of date. the concepts haven't changed much, but the technology has.
 
Indeed, Linux is DEFINATELY something I wanna get into. I've already DLed the 4 ISO's of the 64 bit version of Fedora; however, regardless of the fact that I am aware how powerful and flexible and customizable Linux is, I have NO idea how to customize it to my needs. I've done very little command line stuff, and I'm still unsure as to how a kernel looks. Like, are there special utilities I can get in order to look at the kernel and maybe get an idea of how it works? All I know about kernels is that they are the most important part of an OS.

The only language I'm even remotely familiar with is HTML, and all i know is that you can code html in Notepad. Is Notepad something that can be used to program anything? or again, do you need special utilities that i'm not aware of?
 
You cannot know everything about everything. And if you want solid systematic knowledge then you need a good book or a course instead of poking around randomly yourself.

Just pick a subject like CPU design or kernel design or system architecture or operating system design or programming or learning Linux and then we could recommend some books.
 
I don't suppose there are any free online recources that could tell me everything I need to know, is there? Any good sites besides Oreilly.com? My googling skills can only take me so far, hehe
 
You're from the USA, I suggest you get very well acquainted and comfortable with Math, Physics, and Chemistry. You'll learn faster if you get the basic fundamental out of the way. For example...

"Scalable Link Interface" had been around near forever, but hardly anyone knew what it was or comprehend what it meant much less utilized it, which for a person with a strong math back ground... The whole concept could be explained to in less than 30 seconds - Actually, the explanations wouldn't and shouldn't even be needed at all for anyone who is really good at Math and Physics.

Without the basic fundamental, at best you'll just get to wanna be expert level.
 
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