In all things it is good to understand some foundational material before going into the details. This helps to ground you and give you some context. Inevitably, you already have some experience with computers and that does give you a bit of context to work in. However, it is quite possible that your experience is limited to rather recent technology. One of the factors that shapes the world of computer science is that it is fast moving and ever changing. Knowing how we got to where we are can perhaps help us see where we will be going.