My Time With Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software
Earlier this year, I worked through Charles Petzold’s Code. I say “Worked through” because some parts were easy to follow, and others took effort.
The early chapters were my favorite. Morse code, Braille, and the telegraph were fascinating on their own, but they also gave me a way into the more technical material. Petzold starts with simple systems for sending information, then builds on them.
When the book moved into circuits, logic gates, and hardware, I had to slow down. I don’t have a background in electrical engineering, so I used Claude to ask follow-up questions and fill in the gaps when something didn’t click. That helped me stay with the book instead of skimming past the harder sections.
It took me a few months to finish, but it was worth it. Code gave me a better mental model for how computers work beneath the software layer. I can see myself going through this book again in the future.