[mendelk]

Off topic:

I attended a school with little to none "secular" education, but I was by nature really curious about things.

At some point, I got my hands on "How Stuff Works", the book[0], and devoured it. It was a super-enlightening book. I'd even venture to say it set me on my autodidactic path to programming.

If this book serves the same purpose for someone as that book did for me, it's benefits cannot be overstated IMO.

As an extra bonus, I was considered by my peers to be far more knowledgable than I actually was, due to having a layman's understanding (or at least the appearance thereof) of _so many_ esoteric concepts. 10/10 would read again!

[0] http://amzn.com/0785824324