ABSTRACT
It is possible to use computers as black boxes, without knowing much about what goes on inside. There is, of course, nothing wrong with this. It is a reasonable approach to dealing with complex technology-one that many people (including me) adopt when dealing with things like cars and microwave ovens. Still, opening the black box to at least some extent is much more intellectually satisfying, and it is essential if one wants to be more than a passive consumer of magic-like technology. This, I presume, has something to do with the reason you are reading this book in the first place.
