Comment by fsloth

I understand that from a hardware point of view it's way cooler to start hacking closer to physical bytes and voltages.

The computational substrate has become more complex, yes, but the prepackaged computers did wrap an astonishing amount of complexity behind an off-the-shelf usable interface, just like nowadays. I would claim philosophically the scene has not changed for the majority - vendors prepackage computational substrate, users use it.

What has changed is that the interface and the computational substrate has become more complex.

The modern approach is then to pick an abstraction platform on which to implement one's hacking. With kids Scratch seems to be fantastic. The added abstraction layer removes some of the immediacy of the experience but the power of the computer enables a far richer spectrum of expression.

The modern computer is about intellectual exploration of all domains - visual arts, music, architecture, mathematics,... where the computer and the software is the enabler for the human expression, and not the end in itself.

I would claim it is equally as magical to grab a copy of Mathematica and start exploring physics without having to internalize endless tables of geometric identities, integral formulas, and solutions to differential equations.

Or, if one wants to learn an instrument, say guitar, just find a suitable tutor from the endless streams of youtube. Similarly for art techniques.

The modern platform enables anyone to start exploring the whole spectrum of human expression right from ones home couch rather than travel long ways to attend lessons. I would claim it is far more magical for the population in general than e.g. hacking ones TCP/IP stack.