sorcerer_see

Just sharing with you what is going on inside of me in regards to programming.

I do not know exactly why but, as you would find out when reading my blog posts, I have a weak spot for 'old' computing.

Watching the online programmer Huw Collingbourn busy, has given me confidence that, among, other parameters, age does not really matter much in terms of learning programming, because programming capabilities are based on the understanding of how computers work and can be directed, and regardless of the differences in hardware architectures and operating systems between modern computers and those of the eighties, the underlying technological and philosophical principles, remained broadly the same over the years.

The difference between master programming and mediocre programming, I am convinced, is the love for the art of computing and programming. I just hate the contemporary culture of carelessness, consumerism and exploitation of IT for getting prestige, making money, being successful, etc, devoid of true love of the art itself that makes all of this possible. This ensued with microcomputers becoming accessible for people who have no intrinsic interest in the technology, mid nineties.

The difference between 'old' and new computing is that, back then, it was only lovers who would compute, while in modern computing tons of people who have no real love for computing in itself, use computers for the stuff they do love, rendering computing to be a mere tool of secondary importance. There is nothing inherently wrong about this, it is simply a natural evolution, but I AM a huge lover and to me computing is an ART and I want to keep doing it in the way I think is the RIGHT way. Consumerism renders everything meaningless in it's aim for instant pleasure, regardless of the costs.

Art goes deeper, it tries to understand what is impossible to grasp: the true meaning of things. It touches the truth, but it can not see it. It can sense it without understanding it intellectually. It is a mystical path.

To me modern computing is the destruction of an art, and I hearken back to the days were only nerds who were in love with it, would do it.

This explains why I feel attracted to C, assembly, Pascal and Basic over flashy languages like Python, Rust etc.

The first time I touched a computer that I can remember was when I was 9 years old, in a toy shop. It was a Commodore 64, and I was instantly mesmerized, after moving the blinking cursor, typing and erasing characters, on that stark blue screen.

Once I had a microcomputer myself, an Atari XE, at age 11, I did some BASIC programming, and I loved it. Support tools, books etc, were very limited in my country, at the time, and there was no internet. Therefor strong stimulation to continue was absent. I think I loved gaming more than programming and this is why I did not delve deeper into it at that point.

But now it is different. I need to master this if I want to sustain the experience, including the gaming.

It is this original magic and wonder that I want to recapture, retain, sustain and cherish...