I agree with the "no substance" part. However, I think such a course is not for beginners, instead it would be for experienced programmers who already have an i

I agree with the "no substance" part. However, I think such a course is not for beginners, instead it would be for experienced programmers who already have an idea about how computers work and want to fill up some gaps so that they have the whole picture. These 12 weeks can be part of that "10 years" progression. It addresses the "computer" part, and adds a language that isn't mentioned to the list: Verilog, a hardware definition language. As for the "guy", he is George Hotz, a controversial figure, who likes to think of himself as very clever indeed, but going up and down the abstraction ladder is, I think, one of his strengths. So I won't dismiss his article too quickly.