Taking on the most complex, miniaturized part of a computer and going in the other direction takes a special kind of mind. Doing it “because I want to” takes it to the next level.
James Newman is building a CPU out of individual transistors and LEDs. The goal is to build a 14 meters long wall of blinkenlights performing data processing, 16 bits at a time. Check out his progress over at The Mega Processor blog.