Nice article; it reminds me of taking OS at CMU. There's something incredible about learning what happens all the way down when you call, say, printf. Suddenly the computer transforms from an incomprehensible black box into an fascinating marvel of engineering - but unlike a magician's act, the magic only gets better when you see how it works.
Aside from the interesting information about what is happening is the instructions on what tools to use to get the job done. An article like has a double payload; I wish more were like that.
I just finished that course this semester, and I totally agree. Really, I think that's what most of my upper-level undergrad CS classes have been -- taking something which is a huge, magical black box and pulling it apart to the point where I can (and do) build one myself.
