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Ben Eater's Youtube series "Building an 8-bit Breadboard Computer" is a really good introduction to the lowest levels of how a computer works: https://www.yout

Ben Eater's Youtube series "Building an 8-bit Breadboard Computer" is a really good introduction to the lowest levels of how a computer works: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLowKtXNTBypGqImE405J2565dvjafglHU https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLowKtXNTBypGqImE405J2... I recommended it to my daughter when she was taking a class in R and asked "But how does the COMPUTER know what to do?"

Tmkly 4y ago
this looks extremely interesting and may be just what I'm after. I have some basic electronics experience so I could build on that too. Thanks!
thamer 4y ago
Ben Eater also sells a kit for those who want to follow along by building their own: https://eater.net/shop https://eater.net/shop
rschachte 4y ago
Shout out to Ben Eater. This dude explains how the internet works and rips open an Ethernet cable and hooks up an oscilloscope to it and decodes the bits that transfer over the physical cable. Very informative!
- cyberprunes 4y ago
  That's legendary stuff right there
louwrentius 4y ago
Offtopic: Reminds me that Ben Eater has gone 100% silent since last november (hope he is ok)
- bombcar 4y ago
  You’ll be glad to know his shop has a message about delayed deliveries dated this month. https://eater.net/shop https://eater.net/shop
  - louwrentius 4y ago
    Hope that’s him, thanks
Banana699 4y ago
>But how does the COMPUTER know what to do? Ben Eater is amazing, but his series in my very humble opinion isn't the best answer to this question. I found the emphasis on the breadboard and the particulars of physical implementation getting in the way of a clean pedagogical introduction to logic circuits as a DAG of abstract computational elements implementing function from {0,1}^n -> {0,1}^m (which we then implement with real circuits in whatever medium and form we choose), it's very "DIY" and maker-oriented in nature. This doesn't negate it's status as a masterpiece of educational vlogs, I just feel it leaves a first-time learner hanging on some very important questions. The single best answer I have ever seen to this question is the outstanding The Elements Of Computing Systems[1], better known as the NandToTetris course[2][3]. You literally start with Nand and build a computer, an assembler, a VM, a compiler, a simple runtime library, and - finally - Tetris running on top of all that. It's one of the best introductions to computers and computer science I have ever seen in my life, at once a textbook and a work of science communication. It comes with it's own software suit[4], and the first 4 chapters of the book (from Nand to a fully functional computer capable of running machine code) are gamified in [5]. [1] https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/elements-computing-systems https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/elements-computing-systems [2] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrDd_kMiAuNmSb-CKWQqq9oBFN_KNMTaI https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrDd_kMiAuNmSb-CKWQqq... [3] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrDd_kMiAuNmllp9vuPqCuttC1XL9VyVh https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrDd_kMiAuNmllp9vuPqC... [4] https://www.nand2tetris.org/software https://www.nand2tetris.org/software [5] https://nandgame.com/ https://nandgame.com/
- captn3m0 4y ago
  I went from NAND2Tetris to Ben Eater, and I think that’s the right direction to take. The first gives a great overview, and the latter deep dives into some of the architectural concerns around building computers (which are mostly ignored in the course), like understanding buses, running assembly on actual hardware. The most important bit for me was learning how to read data sheets to figure out how to use chips.
MichaelMoser123 4y ago
I am wondering if it is a better idea to teach R as an intro to programming as compared to Python. I mean you dont have this whole indentation business with R...
tonfreed 4y ago
The developer shared this on here a while ago and I fell in love with it. Super great game https://store.steampowered.com/app/1444480/Turing_Complete/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1444480/Turing_Complete/ Also in the same vein https://nandgame.com https://nandgame.com I found that actually building things helps me learn properly

Tmkly 4y ago

this looks extremely interesting and may be just what I'm after. I have some basic electronics experience so I could build on that too. Thanks!

thamer 4y ago

Ben Eater also sells a kit for those who want to follow along by building their own: https://eater.net/shop https://eater.net/shop

rschachte 4y ago

Shout out to Ben Eater. This dude explains how the internet works and rips open an Ethernet cable and hooks up an oscilloscope to it and decodes the bits that transfer over the physical cable. Very informative!

cyberprunes 4y ago
That's legendary stuff right there

louwrentius 4y ago

Offtopic: Reminds me that Ben Eater has gone 100% silent since last november (hope he is ok)

bombcar 4y ago
You’ll be glad to know his shop has a message about delayed deliveries dated this month. https://eater.net/shop https://eater.net/shop
- louwrentius 4y ago
  Hope that’s him, thanks

Banana699 4y ago

>But how does the COMPUTER know what to do? Ben Eater is amazing, but his series in my very humble opinion isn't the best answer to this question. I found the emphasis on the breadboard and the particulars of physical implementation getting in the way of a clean pedagogical introduction to logic circuits as a DAG of abstract computational elements implementing function from {0,1}^n -> {0,1}^m (which we then implement with real circuits in whatever medium and form we choose), it's very "DIY" and maker-oriented in nature. This doesn't negate it's status as a masterpiece of educational vlogs, I just feel it leaves a first-time learner hanging on some very important questions. The single best answer I have ever seen to this question is the outstanding The Elements Of Computing Systems[1], better known as the NandToTetris course[2][3]. You literally start with Nand and build a computer, an assembler, a VM, a compiler, a simple runtime library, and - finally - Tetris running on top of all that. It's one of the best introductions to computers and computer science I have ever seen in my life, at once a textbook and a work of science communication. It comes with it's own software suit[4], and the first 4 chapters of the book (from Nand to a fully functional computer capable of running machine code) are gamified in [5]. [1] https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/elements-computing-systems https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/elements-computing-systems [2] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrDd_kMiAuNmSb-CKWQqq9oBFN_KNMTaI https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrDd_kMiAuNmSb-CKWQqq... [3] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrDd_kMiAuNmllp9vuPqCuttC1XL9VyVh https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrDd_kMiAuNmllp9vuPqC... [4] https://www.nand2tetris.org/software https://www.nand2tetris.org/software [5] https://nandgame.com/ https://nandgame.com/

captn3m0 4y ago
I went from NAND2Tetris to Ben Eater, and I think that’s the right direction to take. The first gives a great overview, and the latter deep dives into some of the architectural concerns around building computers (which are mostly ignored in the course), like understanding buses, running assembly on actual hardware. The most important bit for me was learning how to read data sheets to figure out how to use chips.

MichaelMoser123 4y ago

I am wondering if it is a better idea to teach R as an intro to programming as compared to Python. I mean you dont have this whole indentation business with R...

tonfreed 4y ago

The developer shared this on here a while ago and I fell in love with it. Super great game https://store.steampowered.com/app/1444480/Turing_Complete/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1444480/Turing_Complete/ Also in the same vein https://nandgame.com https://nandgame.com I found that actually building things helps me learn properly