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Richard Feynman Computer Science Lecture - Hardware, Software and Heuristics
Muon Ray
A lecture by Richard Feynman on how computers work, using the analogy of a filing clerk that becomes progressively dumber and faster. It also covers heuristics and how computers handle data and solve problems in finite time.
Frequently recommended as the clearest plain-language explanation of what a computer fundamentally is, with at least one commenter saying it changed how they think about programming.
20 Hacker News mentions · 2013–2026