[fragsworth]

> Is this really possible?

Yeah, you can definitely understand computers to the point that nothing about them is really mysterious. It takes a while, but lots of people have done it. There might be lots that you aren't aware of - but none of it will come as a surprise once you've learned how it all works.

I guess at some fundamental level, though, it's based on (quantum) physics, and lots of that is still mysterious to us. But that's way deeper than anything you come across with computers.

[tel]

I suppose this is true, so long as you're talking about the physical artifacts that we've created as a society. I think it's importantly less true if you begin to ask questions such as why this particular machine is so powerful, what it's limits are, and how its operation relates to other things.

Perhaps I misspoke in saying that seeking to eliminate the magic is enough. You have to follow more threads than the ones that originally lead you into the wings.

[dchichkov]

Just take a class of solid-state physics, there's nothing really mysterious in there. Just bunch of fancy differential equations. And solutions to these. Tough to get at first, but gets pretty mechanical, after you've solved a few. And after some point you can just grog the math.