For those of us who are immersed in the modern computing paradigm, prompting large language models or interacting with operating systems via finger, mouse, gesture or voice commands the pioneer’s world of command lines and text files can seem an alien place, but since our computers are all Turing machines anyway the candy coating hides many of the same tools and structures in the basement as the systems that predated them. A good programmer would probably benefit from an appreciation of that fact, and an amazing programmer would probably want to know more.
If you want a hint of what it was like to work in that world, then this story about how a University computing team nearly destroyed their file system, and how they were able to recover from the accident might amaze, irritate or baffle you, but it is, I think, unlikely to leave you unmoved. It is a little late for a Halloween story, but I hope you will forgive that and enjoy a Tale from the Crypt!