Computing Fundamentals

Watch

• How computer memory works - Kanawat Senanan ↗TED-Ed
• A beginner's guide to quantum computing | Shohini Ghose ↗TED
• Quantum Computers Explained – Limits of Human Technology ↗Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
• But what is quantum computing? (Grover's Algorithm) ↗3Blue1Brown

Read

• Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software ↗Demystifies the intricate layers from electrical signals to software, providing a lucid journey into the machine's inner workings.Charles Petzold
• Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs ↗A rigorous yet elegant exposition on computational thinking, essential for understanding the paradigms that underpin all software.Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman
• A Mathematical Theory of Communication ↗The seminal work that established the quantitative foundations of information, indispensable for comprehending digital data transmission and storage.Claude Shannon
• The Soul of a New Machine ↗A captivating narrative of engineering ambition and the human endeavour behind the creation of a groundbreaking computer, illuminating the practicalities of innovation.Tracy Kidder
• On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem ↗The foundational theoretical paper introducing the concept of the Turing machine, indispensable for grasping the limits and capabilities of computation.Alan Turing

Voices to follow

• Vint Cerf ↗His foundational work on TCP/IP protocols laid the architectural bedrock for the global internet, a digital infrastructure he continues to champion.Internet pioneer; Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
• Tim Berners-Lee ↗Credited with conceiving the World Wide Web, he remains a vigilant advocate for its open, decentralised future and ethical evolution.Inventor of the World Wide Web; Director, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
• Yann LeCun ↗A Turing Award laureate, he is a principal architect of modern deep learning, driving advancements in artificial intelligence that reshape computational capabilities.Chief AI Scientist, Meta; Professor, New York University
• Fei-Fei Li ↗A leading voice in artificial intelligence, she champions a human-centric approach to AI development, emphasising its ethical deployment and societal impact.Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University; Co-Director, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI

Glossary

• ComputerA machine that can take information (input), process it, store it, and then give you results (output). It helps us do many tasks quickly and accurately. For example, your smartphone is a type of computer that lets you make calls, browse the internet, and play games.
• DataData refers to raw facts, figures, or information that a computer processes or stores. It can be anything from numbers and text to images and sounds. For example, the words you type, the pictures you take, or the scores in a game are all forms of data that the computer handles.
• HardwareThese are all the physical parts of a computer that you can touch and see. Think of them as the body of the computer. For example, the keyboard, mouse, screen, and the main box (called the CPU tower) are all hardware components.
• InputThis is any information or command you give to the computer. It's how you tell the computer what you want it to do. For example, typing on a keyboard, clicking a mouse, or speaking into a microphone are all ways to give input to a computer.
• InternetThe Internet is a massive, worldwide network of computer networks. It allows billions of devices globally to connect and share information. For example, when you browse websites, watch videos online, or send messages to friends far away, you are using the Internet.
• Memory (RAM)This is the computer's short-term workspace, called Random Access Memory (RAM). It temporarily holds data and programs that the computer is actively using so the processor can access them quickly. For example, when you have many apps open at once, they are using RAM. If you close them, that space becomes free.
• NetworkA network is a group of two or more computers or devices connected together so they can share information and resources. It allows them to "talk" to each other. For example, the computers in your school lab might be connected in a network to share a printer or access shared files.
• Operating System (OS)This is the main software that manages all the hardware and other software on a computer. It's like the conductor of an orchestra, making sure everything works together smoothly. For example, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS are common operating systems that let you open apps and manage files.
• OutputThis is the information or results that the computer gives back to you after it has processed your input. It's how the computer communicates with you. For example, seeing text on a screen, hearing music from speakers, or a printed document are all forms of output.
• Processor (CPU)Often called the "brain" of the computer, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) is a tiny chip that carries out all the instructions and calculations. It's responsible for most of the computer's work. For example, when you open an app or play a video, the CPU is working hard to make it happen.
• SoftwareThese are the programs and instructions that tell the computer hardware what to do. You can't touch software, but it makes the computer useful. For example, the games you play, the web browser you use, and the word processor for typing documents are all types of software.
• Storage (Hard Drive/SSD)This is where the computer keeps all your files, programs, and the operating system permanently, even when the computer is turned off. It's like a long-term filing cabinet. For example, your photos, videos, games, and documents are saved on the computer's storage, like a hard drive or Solid State Drive (SSD).

Threads 7

Where this connects to other fields, and why it's worth knowing.

• Social Institutions Sociology

  Computers work in layers, where each level hides the messy details below it behind a simple button or screen, so you can use an app without knowing the wiring. Big bureaucracies pull the exact same trick: a single clerk handles one form without needing to understand the entire government. Both survive by hiding complexity behind a clean, simple face.

• Craft, Fashion & the Made Object Arts & Design

  In the early 1800s a weaver named Jacquard fed punched cards into a loom, and the holes told it which threads to lift to weave a pattern in silk. That is exactly how the first computers worked a century later: cards with holes, telling a machine what to do step by step. So the code running your phone traces its family tree straight back to a fabric-weaving machine.

• Writing Systems Literature

  Older writing had a different symbol for every word, thousands to memorize. The alphabet was a genius shortcut: a couple dozen letters can spell any word that exists. That's compression, squeezing endless things into a few reusable pieces, and it's the exact same idea behind how computers encode everything, from text to video, using just 0s and 1s.

• The Industrial Revolution History

  A weaving machine once used punched cards, cards with holes poked in them, to automatically make fancy silk patterns. A man named Babbage saw that and thought: what if a machine followed punched-card instructions to do math? That spark became the computer. In a real sense, the computer was dreamed up in a fabric factory.

• The World Wars History

  To crack Nazi secret codes in World War Two, British teams had to build machines that could rip through calculations no human could. Those code-breaking machines were the ancestors of the computer you're using right now. Modern computing was basically born from a wartime race to read the enemy's mail.

• Memory and Its Failures Psychology

  A hard drive keeps a file exactly the same no matter how often you open it. Your memory does the opposite: every time you recall something, your brain rewrites it, so the memory you replay most is the one you've edited most. The stories you're surest about are often the least trustworthy.

• Black Holes Science

  There's a wild theory that all the information swallowed by a black hole is stored on its flat outer surface, like data on a disk. If true, the densest object in the universe is basically a hard drive, tying gravity itself to the science of storing information.