Exploring How Computers Work

A little exploration of some of the fundamentals of how computers work. Logic gates, binary, two's complement; all that good stuff!

Resources and Inspiration:

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:50 Logic Gates
03:09 The Simulation
05:06 Binary Numeral System
06:16 Binary Addition Theory
07:24 Building an Adder
12:11 Negative Numbers Theory
15:08 Building the ALU
17:43 Outro

Music:
"A Quiet Place" by Jordan White
"A New Perspective" by Ryan Smart
"Beyond the Horizon" by Sounds Like Sander
"Crystal Bursts" by Cody Martin
"Air" by Assaf Ayalon
"Elastic Vibe" by Ziv Moran
"Gotcha!" by Avocado Junkie

Images:

[SebastianLague]

Hi everyone! I work with computers pretty much every day, but know shamefully little about what actually goes on inside them. I've been trying to remedy that recently by learning some of the (very) basics, and I thought it'd be fun to make a few videos about it along the way. It's a bit different from my usual content, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway :)

Edit: I see there’s some interest in getting access to the little simulation tool I made. It’s not in a very user friendly state at the moment, but I’ll see about polishing it up and releasing it for free sometime soon!


If you'd like to support me in creating more videos about programming, game development, etc. I'd greatly appreciate your support on Patreon

[Vijwal]

"I am not too good at giving instructions"

*Makes a simulation that can simulate what it's being ran on*

[NikolajLepka]

this might just be the most concise explanation of how to get from a transistor to an ALU

[mohammadhoseinmollaei]

as a programmer watching this made me realize how privileged i am to live in a time when high level programming languages exist. can't imagine what the computer pioneers had to go through. mad respect for them.

[Andoxico]

There's a game called Turing Complete that's perfect for this sort of study. It takes you from making a NOT gate all the way to writing assembly programs that run on the computer you eventually build. I strongly recommend.

[Luminalmvm]

You're actually explaining my university course far clearer than my lecturer lol. Love the videos

[thebeat]

I'm suprised with every thing, from how computers work to how he can make the lines look so beautiful

[ArcNineAngel]

I got lost halfway through, but this was so well made and clear to see I'm still fascinated! Thank you for making these! I always struggled with this and it made a bit more sense today.

[MintyLime]

It always blows my mind trying to figure out how we got from simple earth materials to a computer. How when arranged just right and using electrons to flip ones and zeros you can make a virtual world that can be interacted with. Not even for work or anything either, this technology is so standardized that everyone uses it for just about anything you can think of. Most have no idea how it works but they don't even need to. It's so incredibly advanced and new yet people treat computers like they're any other tool. Imagine trying to explain how a phone works to someone living in the Roman Republic. How could you even convince them that it's made from the metals and earthy materials found all around them?

[mrhelpful]

Quite frankly, the most impressive thing about this video is how easily he puts components into a breadboard

[akinichts]

I like the way of thinking of the sign indicator as -8. never hear of this idea before

[eckee]

I can’t believe how well put this is. So simple yet explains a lot of concepts clearly and in detail. Teachers do matter.

[dryoshiyahu]

This would be such an incredible tool for educational settings like classrooms.

[Vincent_C]

I found out how to use simple logic gates from games like scrap mechanic and minecraft. It's strange building a computer, inside a video game that's running on a computer.

[Jath]

Your digital logic Sim is ...more exciting than anything I could have imagined having as a kid in the 80s... and the things I could imagine Cost way more than I could have afforded. ... I applaud your efforts man. You do a service to all future people. Cheers.

[ant_six]

As a senior electrical and computer engineering student, this has been the best video I've seen in awhile! Explained the core of digital systems in a simple and intuitive way. Subscribed

[UstedTubo]

When Sebastian says he's 'not so good at giving' computers instructions, a collective gulp can be heard from the rest of us.

[kivylius]

This is absolutely the best description I never ever seen in my entire life. As a dev for 10 year interested in electronic, I finally got the “aha” moment. Thank you.

[glitchy_weasel]

Wow! This is without a doubt the best, most concise introduction to digital system in all of YouTube. And despite of being short and extremely concise, you explained it perfectly. As with many others in the comments, this complements my university course perfectly! Will share it with my friends, thanks!

[Steve_K]

I studied this stuff decades ago, and have now stumbled onto this video looking for a good tutorial for my grandson. Am just six minutes into it, but holy cow, it's brilliant. Best explanations I've ever seen. Bravo, Mr Lague.