alt Hacker NewsThis article misses a point that I really like knitting - that it is a lot like executing software.
There are a small number of knitting techniques - knit, purl, a few increases and decreases etc. Knitting patterns give you sequences to apply these primitives and at the end you have a complex, useful item, potentially in 3D.
You're doing a few simple things repeatedly and you end up with complex behaviour. That's a CPU!
I thought about discussing the connection between knitting and programming. You're exactly right that following a pattern is exactly like being a human virtual machine for a tiny programming language. There is something delightful about that.
At the same time, I don't knit because it reminds me of programming. If I want to scratch the programming itch, I'll program. So I ended up not mentioning it in the article, but there's definitely an overlap.