Because until that point i didn't know much about HDLs like Verilog/VHDL and how they were at a completely different level than "standard" programming languages like C/Python/etc. My then assumption was that since C was a low-level language and chip designers were working at a low-level they would be able to program in Assembly/C in their sleep and that they would be able to initiate me into the mysteries of how my C code was actually translated into electrical signals in the processor circuits. It was a big disappointment for me when i realized we were living in completely different worlds.

I actually made a deal with some of them to teach them C/C++ in return for them teaching me Verilog/SystemC but unfortunately that never came to pass. I even got me a couple of Verilog/VHDL books and FPGAs to teach myself what i call "Actual and True Hardware Programming" but haven't really sat down with it. Hopefully sometime in the future so i can finally know everything from the bottom-most layer to the top-most.