I’ve hit a point in my life where I think it’s fun to pretend like everything is a computer. In doing so, I like to come up with analogies that describe the inner workings of a computer as if it was something else. In this post, I’m going to try my best to describe a computer to someone that knows everything there is about basketball. This article started out as a text message but it soon blew up and I decided it best I make an actual article so that this would be more easily referenceable (I hope that makes sense).
Most of my research in this article involved me trying to understand some of the basic elements of basketball without thinking about the rules per say so bear with me as I take you on this small journey.
To summarize, a Computer is a black box to most people and it means many things to many different people. The analogies I’m making below are geared mostly towards the specifications of a laptop in 2020-2023 but obviously a lot leaks over to the little portable computers in your pockets.
RAM (Random Access Memory):
Analogy: “Size of the Basketball Court”
Explanation: RAM in a computer is like the size of the basketball court. It determines the amount of space available for the computer to work with data. Just as a larger basketball court provides more room for players to move and execute plays, more RAM allows the computer to handle larger and more complex tasks efficiently. If you’re a multitasker, more RAM is better. The joke is that if you’re running Chrome, you’ll never have enough but 8GB is probably good for 90% of tasks and anything above that is required for serious computing like data processing / analysis and gaming but a GPU will definitely take the brunt of that.
CPU (Central Processing Unit):
Analogy: “Number of Players and Speed of the Players”
Explanation: The CPU in a computer is like the number of players on a basketball team. It represents the processing power and capability of the computer. Just as a team with more players can perform multiple tasks simultaneously and handle complex strategies, a computer with a more powerful CPU can handle more calculations and execute tasks faster. However, there are two types of CPUs. Intel or AMD but both are really good. Intel is the most common and both companies provide them in three flavors. Intel i3, i5, and i7 (yes I know there are also i9’s and beyond but I’m trying to keep this simple) or AMD Ryzen 3, 5, and 7.
3’s are good for tablets and 5 and 7s are good as laptops where the higher the number the faster they run. Using the LA Lakers’ basketball players over the years, 3 series are probably Sam Bowie’s or Adam Morrison’s, 5 series include the likes of Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Nick Van Exel, Rick Fox and 7 series would include players such as Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (great actor in Airplane! by the way), James Worthy, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant. I would argue Kobe is closer to your Intel i9’s and Ryzen 9’s though.
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit):
Analogy: “Brand of Shoes the Players Wear”
Explanation: The GPU in a computer is like the brand of shoes the players wear in basketball. Yes, this is the best I could do as I was thinking what the best analogy for a GPU on a basketball court when it came to the game means.
Different brands, such as Nvidia (like Nike) and Radeon (like Adidas), offer their own GPUs with varying features and performance. It’s similar to how different shoe brands provide unique styles, technologies, and performance characteristics. The choice of GPU brand can impact the graphics processing capabilities and overall performance of the computer, just like the choice of shoe brand can affect a player’s comfort and performance on the court. GPUs also have their own RAM which is way faster than the RAM on the computer but I can’t think of a good analogy to make without including things like shoe size, material, and so on or some metric that scales well and is correlated with performance.
I know it’s stretching things a bit by using the shoe analogy so if you have any other ideas feel free to let me know! I honestly am using the shoe analogy because I don’t believe a ‘Shoe’ makes much sense without the person (CPU) wearing the shoe.
The more I think about the GPU analogy, I don’t know if it quite works. On a Computer the GPU is what is essentially displaying the visual data to the end user. This device is optimized to perform matrix multiplication of numbers so another potential analogy is that a GPU could would be the magic that makes some players understand the game so well, they’re not even thinking about what to do next but merely react in real time to certain situations. I’m still thinking through this one so expect an update someday.
Storage (Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or Solid State Drive (SSD)):
Analogy: “Locker Room or Equipment Storage”
Explanation: Storage in a computer is like a locker room or equipment storage area in basketball. It is where data and files are stored for long-term use. Similar to how a locker room keeps jerseys, equipment, and supplies ready for use, computer storage retains files, documents, programs, and other data even when the computer is turned off. It provides a permanent and larger capacity for storing data. Basically SSD is faster because a hard disk drive takes time for the little disk to spin up to full speed (about 5,400 RPM – 7,200 RPM) and SSD is just like a REALLY FAST USB Flash drive to put it in simple terms. Using the locker room analogy, a good way to think of an SSD in terms of finding your jerseys and other equipment is to pretend that it takes just as long to find a jersey deep in one corner of the locker room as it does if it was right in front of you.
To put it all together, the current year is 2023 and I’m likely searching for computers with a minimum of 8GB of RAM, Intel/AMD 5 or 7, 256GB of Storage minimum (yours is most likely to be be around 512GB), and a GPU may not even be that important since the $750+ laptops are considered gaming / business and the $400 – 750 are fine for personal use. The cheaper, the more plastic they’ll have though where the more expensive ones are made with fancy metals and have other features like better Wi-Fi chips, trackpads, and other devices and ports.
Anyways, if you’re one that likes basketball and needed a basic understanding of computers in general, I hope the above helped out!