For me, reading Quantum Computing Since Democritus was the moment when I realized I barely know anything. The author mentions dozens of topics in passing, some of them I do not understand, some of them I understand enough to know that he is not bluffing. It would take me at least five years of full-time studying to get on the level where I would understand everything mentioned in that book—and of course that is very unlikely to happen, because there are many other things to do.
For me, reading Quantum Computing Since Democritus was the moment when I realized I barely know anything. The author mentions dozens of topics in passing, some of them I do not understand, some of them I understand enough to know that he is not bluffing. It would take me at least five years of full-time studying to get on the level where I would understand everything mentioned in that book—and of course that is very unlikely to happen, because there are many other things to do.