Likewise, I think its under appreciated just how many people got their start in this industry through tinkering with things because they seemed interesting.

i got my start with a copy of Gorillas - a QBasic game - when i was maybe 7 or 8. to play it you had to open the code and execute it. one day i got curious what all of the gibberish text meant, and that was the start of my journey: a damn game of gorillas throwing bananas! now here i am.. 30+ years later and eternally grateful for those pixelated primates. i sometimes wonder what drove me to tinker with that code that day.