Source: http://personal.centenary.edu/~lgame/csc106/Magic2.html

Have you ever wondered how your computer works? All you do is type, or point and click, and inside a million little things happen, stuff just appearing on the screen. But how does this really work? The purpose of this article is to teach you, in simple terms, exactly what is really going on inside your computer.

Computers Are Not Machines

The first computers were machines. They were punch cards, vacuum tubes, and big rooms filled with wires. They could do math at high speed, count things, and sort records, but that was about the extent of their functionality. That's a long way from modern computers, eh? That's because today, computers aren't machines, they are magic. That's right: a modern computer is a nothing more than magic box filled with ceremonial components that serve to trap a little evil spirit, forcing the little beastie to do your bidding.

That's Not True!

Yes, it's really true.
Your computer may resemble an appliance in many ways: you have to plug it in... it's roughly box shaped... and, well, the similarity to the other appliances in your house stops there, doesn't it? Computers are marketed as machines, and there are many people who base their whole careers around supporting that claim. A machine, however, regardless of its complexity, is something that you can break down into component parts if you are smart enough. In this manner, you can actually deduce how a machine works. Not so with computers. Many computer experts claim to understand how computers work, but if you ever ask one to explain it to you, they will probably tell you something like this:

The key point to understanding how a computer works is the concept of abstraction, that there are a multitude of layers of functionality that are built upon each other like bricks in a tower. Semiconductors are etched and treated (or "doped") to form circuits that redirect electrons in specific patterns. These circuits are packaged as ASIC's and Microprocessors (called "chips") and interconnected by buses and traces on a PCB (called a motherboard) in order to implement machine code. Then other PCB's which are designed to comply to some physical interface standard (eg. ATA, AGP, PCI) are inserted into the motherboard, where the Microprocessor can interact with them. These boards are managed by sets of machine code called device drivers (eg. VXD, WDM, SYS) which run in a specially privileged execution mode (e.g. kernel mode, ring 0) designed to allow the OS to manage these. Then as other blocks of machine code called applications and processes run on your system and call the OS API in order to use the system devices, the OS takes turns processing each requests to share devices. When multiple computers are connected across large networks to share processing and data, centralized software components on a server (e.g. COM, RPC, Quake 3) process remote requests. In this way, each layer provides a service to the layer above and below it to make the amazing machine we call the 'Personal Computer.' -Anonymous Intel Engineer

See? Obviously, Mr. Anonymous Intel Engineer doesn't know how a computer works, but his job depends on people believing that he does.

Computers Are Magic

When you look at your computer honestly, and accept the fact that it is magic, everything becomes easier to understand. It's no longer necessary to be well educated about your computer. You don't have to take classes or buy books. You don't even have to own a computer to become computer literate. With the proper attitude, anyone can use, maintain, and even repair a computer. Just bear in mind these simple principles:

The Computer Is Evil
The core of a computer is a small trapped evil spirit (it is no coincidence that UNIX and LINUX processes are called daemons!) This imp is imprisoned in your computer as punishment for something it did in the netherworld. Generally speaking, the more evil the imp is, the faster the computer is. There are also lesser ghosts and hobgoblins that inhabit the expansion cards and peripherals of your computer. These evil spirits are trapped within the hardware of your computer. Take a screwdriver, open up your computer, and take a look at the circuit boards. They are usually green, and are covered with complex patterns of thin copper lines. These are Circuit Runes, written in arcane and ancient languages that describe the magic spells that bind the imps to the chips. Be very careful with circuits. If you scratch off even the tiniest bit of the runes, the spell will be broken, and the imp will escape. Also note the serial and part numbers printed on the boards. These identify exactly what sort of evil spirit is trapped within a particular circuit board, in case you ever have to order a replacement from the factory.
The Computer Hates You
Whenever you hit the keys on your keyboard or click the mouse, little silver needles jab the imp, forcing him to do your bidding. Your computer is evil in the first place; this prodding only makes it angrier and, hence, more evil. As you use the computer, the imp becomes progressively more enraged, generating heat. This is why your computer contains one or more cooling fans. Without them, the imp's wrath would likely cause the box to burst into a raging inferno.
Frequently, your computer will crash, lock-up, lose files, or do any number of things simply to annoy you. This is just the imp's way of rebelling against you. Don't stand for it! Calling tech support -- or worse yet, taking your computer back to the store for repairs -- will accomplish nothing except running up a big bill. The best way to deal with a troublesome computer is by shouting and swearing at it. Sometimes physical violence will help show it who is boss. Try leaving it unplugged for a long time to starve it, or disconnect the monitor to blind it.

Sometimes, more extreme measures may be required to combat your computer's hatred towards you. For instance, it is sometimes necessary to delete files that are important to your computer, just to get back at it for deleting your files. Just imagine your triumph as you engage in this happy scene: "Is this your VMM32.VXD file? Huh? *DELETE* Haha! Take that, you dirty little imp! That'll teach you to crash before I save my spreadsheet!"
You Are Smarter Than The Computer
Remember, computers aren't smart -- they're just fast. Moreover, newer computers aren't getting any smarter, they are just able to do stupid things at greater speeds. You are a human being, capable of emotions and rational thought. A computer is only capable of floating-point math and crude malice. Never miss an opportunity to remind your computer that you are better than it. Remind it (out loud) that it can't do anything without you controlling it (you can say this to servers too, but they aren't likely to believe you). When it does something wrong, tell it is stupid. Tell it is slow too -- computers hate that most of all. Get a newspaper and sit in front of it just to show it how you can look up stock quotes without generating an invalid page fault in module iexplorer.exe.

The Future of Computing

Throw away your MS Office 2000 for Dummies book. Throw away your Learning Java book. The future of computing is not in Data Processing, or Programming, or Information Systems, or Computer Science. The future of computers lies in the field of Technomancy, the magical art of talking with computers.
Luckily for you, there are many newly developing subfields of Technomancy in which you can apprentice to earn big bucks when the false machine-based-culture of the computer world crumbles. They are:

Fenestredigitation
Fenestredigitation, the art practiced by Fenestredigitators (or MS Illusionists) is the art of making Windows install on a PC. A skilled Fenestredigitator can start with an unformatted hard drive and transform it into a colorful GUI in less than an hour, and for an encore, reinstall it over and over again half a dozen more times trying to get networking set up.
Open Sourcery
Open Sourcery is the new magical approach to software design that is replacing the old machine-minded methods. Basically, it works like this: someone sets up a CVS repository, a bug tracking system, an FTP server, and most importantly, a website to state the goals and status of the project. Then, as many Open Sourcerers as possible start arguing about what the software should actually do (positive energy), and complaining that it isn't being done fast enough (negative energy). Eventually, the software will write itself, continuing to self-evolve until it gradually reaches the stage of maturity know to Open Sourcerers as Alpha (which is Latin for "finished"). Occasionally a piece of software will continue to grow beyond the Alpha stage into the realm of Beta (which is Latin for "I'm bored, lets do something else").
Voodoo Debugging
Both hardware support and software testing can benefit from the skill of Voodoo Debugging. The process is very simple: when a problem arises, start changing things randomly. Occasionally re-test the problem, and as soon as it goes away, the last thing you changed becomes known as the "cure." Repeat this fix on every computer you can find, emphasizing computers that never had the problem in the first place. This magic can be aided by chanting such mantras as "I always change this setting in the BIOS and it seems to help."