Or as an exercise in minimalism. Why does there have to be a point? Can't it just be art for its own sake?

Have you ever wondered why your modern computer makes you wait for so many things? ... while you or other people were doing so many of the same things like 30 years ago on computers hundreds times slower.

Is it that your computer is getting old? ... No way! Hardware does not slow down when aging: software does. And it does because most developers have no idea of what happens under their feet in lower software and hardware layers - or worse, they just do not care.

I am so sure we would get so much better software if most developers were skilled in so-called "low level" stuff... Because "low level" skills are exactly the opposite: they are high level skills.

Why does someone learn woodworking and make a chair when they can buy one from a store? Or why do they come up with their own design when they could follow someone else's plan?

Creativity can be a lot of fun, particularly when not bounded by practical concerns.