Student vs Basement Dweller

What does /prog/ think about learning on your own without a university education?



  

If you're into programming (and you should, since this is /prog/), then it's always best to start early. Read stuff like computer architecture books, K&R, the C standard, SICP (srsly), data structure books, etc. Then, once you get into university, taking the courses will be easy and only serve to clarify the things that you weren't clear when you learned it yourself.

One of my instructors once said that the brain is best for learning at a young age, and that's when the basic principles of how a computer works should be taught (how everything is binary, what is a memory, how does processor work). I see students in my computer arch class that just don't get it and fail hard, but if you're able to read and write lists of (any type, not just computer) instructions you should find writing asm, which is what we have to do in this course, straightforward if a bit tedious.