My advice would be to study wikipedia, at least, and try to connect the dots by asking around on forums, just to check if you're connecting the dots in a coherent manner. Having a hobby is a nice thing. But, there are times when someone else can connect the dots in ways that you wouldn't dream of. In the field of computer science, there's always the chance that a hobbyist will solve a stubborn problem that stumps a pro.I agree. But what to do when you have chosen to do something else in your life but you like to "play" with computers ? What to do when you haven't a solid background ? What to do when you don't understand well much of the theory behind the tasks that you accomplish ?