Putting the “You” in CPU

I love this, for so many reasons.

Content explaining how a CPU works is such a great candidate for this treatment: a clean, detailed, standalone site that just sort of exists to be a definitive resource that takes an intimidating concept, and makes it approachable to any other human who is simply curious enough to learn something new.

What I love even more is this sort of humble, child-like tone to the whole thing that lends itself to that accessibility. To me, it feels like a distinct human state – where the experienced grown-up part of you teams up with the insatiably-curious child you’ve been from the beginning. I think amazing work happens here. This piece was literally written/built by at least one high school student, so that checks out, but it’s a great reminder of how much better a piece can be when the reader feels like they’re learning alongside you, as opposed to being lectured.

I’ve long thought that it’d be a fun project to do a similar how-it-works piece for the whole cold boot process from beginning to idle. From raw power going into the back of the machine, to pixels finally rendering on screen.