[toadi]

Most of the older software engineers are tinkerers. Like when I was a kid I tried to take apart all my toys and see how it worked. When a computer magazine came out with a game listing I typed it in and learned from it. Then moved and changed things around to see how it worked. This is how I went into software engineering.

These days I just do it for a living mostly. CRUD code, arbitrary complex systems because of governance/compliance. It is all a bit boring. It is a how I make a good bundle of money.

On the side I build custom motorcycles. Older ones... I buy an engine that is as mechanical as possible. Easy to fix/maintain etc. Then I do metal fabrication and build a bike around it. For hours I can tinkering with this. Just as I did over 25+ years ago with my computers.

what I wat to say is you still need people to do this so they can dive deep into the abstractions. Bit how people are able to drive their car, maybe know highlevel how the engine works. But are not able to build or maintain one :)