How Can I Gain a Deeper Understanding of Programming Languages and Computer Fundamentals?

Learning C is definitely a great step since it closely relates to hardware and teaches you about memory management. Beyond that, diving into assembly language and studying computer architecture can really enhance your understanding. You might want to check out books like "Code" by Charles Petzold or "Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective" for a deeper dive. Also, "The Pragmatic Programmer" provides a good historical context on why certain languages evolved, so you don’t have to start everything from scratch.

If you're looking for a fun way to understand the low-level workings of computers, you should check out nandgame. It gamifies the learning process, starting from basics like transistors and logic gates all the way up to machine language and assembly. It's a cool, interactive approach to grasping how everything operates under the hood!

I echo the suggestion to check out "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software" by Charles Petzold. It's a fantastic resource that explains the fundamentals in an engaging way. If you're looking for something deeper and more comprehensive, it could be a valuable addition to your reading list.

As someone who's been around for a while, I started with a business degree too, but I got into coding early on. A great book I'd recommend is "The Art of Computer Programming" by Donald Knuth. It's a classic but definitely very detailed and might be a bit intense for some. Another interesting read is by a Ruby enthusiast, which I found insightful. It’s fascinating to see how far we've come from no-UI computers!

I'd suggest starting with assembly language because it’s the closest programming level to machine code. C is wonderful too, but nothing beats working with assembly for understanding the 'metal' of computers. Just remember, it's been a transformative journey seeing how technology has advanced over the decades, and I'm thankful to have been a part of it.