That's a really good point. I've also done what you mentioned in your first paragraph but stopped digging deeper once I hit the "now I have to understand physics to actually understand why electricity behaves the way it does in order to flow through transistors/logic gates" barrier. My reasoning at the time was a combination of asking myself how much time I actually had to dive into that as well, plus how much of a potential return I thought I could get from having resolved those questions.
Both this and your above comment might just be the most uninvited and self-absorbed accounts of internal reasoning I've encountered in a neutral space online in a long time. Maybe you can do a deep dive on your presentation and determine the abstract reason why you think colleagues aren't interested in the same things as you (hint: it's not the topics).
Seems like I struck a nerve here... I didn't realize I'm not allowed to use HN to start discussions with other readers about topics they bring up :)
I like to post about these kinds of thoughts on HN because I feel the crowd is the type to offer useful insights I don't find elsewhere on the internet or even IRL. Do I have a tendency to ramble? Sure, look at my post history...
If you have any insights about what I mentioned (a thing I've been curious about for a long time), I'm all ears - but I don't see how being salty is contributing.
I can understand why my comment reads "salty" - I apologize for that. In all honesty, based on what you said, I actually think you and I have much in common (having undergone similar technical exercises for the pure sake of understanding).
My issue was/is your delivery (albeit typed and perhaps it is just the medium, again, apologies) - you didn't start a discussion, even when the parent responded you hardly even acknowledged what they said before you simply doubled down on speaking "at" them/us about yourself and your interests in affirmative statements (that in all honesty read like you're "one-upping" everyone for some reason) that leave open very little room for an equitable response.
I guess, what I'm trying to say, is that I think human nature is such that people want to feel comfortable with another human before diving into a technical topic with them (even on HN!). That rapport is subtle and relies on so much more than just factual knowledge or a common project; it needs genuine, mutual interest in other people, and if I could make any suggestion (advice I try to take myself) it would be a more polished delivery. Or, as my mom always told me, "it's not enough to be right all the time - you have to be kind, too."
