Ask HN: How to explain passion for “tech stuff”?
Like many here I suppose, I've always loved technical stuff and been hacking around since a kid. But I can't explain that feeling well.
I enjoy the feeling when I learn about some cool concept, when I engineer a robust system for production, when I learn about the nitty-gritty of some interesting implementation detail, when my dev process just feels really solid and frictionless, when I read the next Go changelog, when I read about some intricate hardware details, when I understand some apparently complex tech so well everything just feels more relaxed, etc.
What is it that "we" like? How do you answer when someone asks "what do you like?" and you want to explain something similar to the feelings above?
(In my case it also applies not just for tech stuff, but nearly anything that's new and perhaps uncommon information. I love learning and discovering. Everything from art history to reading some medical handbook about caring for pressure ulcers in elderly patients) My guess would be that evolutionary speaking, being able to make useful tools provided a significant advantage (hunting, fire, writing...) So hacking around, and liking hacking around was selected for.