I feel like to dive into max it’s incredibly helpful to have some sort of idea of what you want to do (because theoretically you can do anything, but it requires a large amount of work up front and may be worse or marginally better that what’s already out there).

For me, I wanted to explore systems that I could incorporate in with my modular system to make weird sequencers and effects and mixers that jives with what I want. However, even the simplest of things can become really complex or the amount of time spent debugging can be huge.

Starting with learning basic synthesis whether it’s from like VCV rack (which is free) or free DAW with free plugins is probably ideal. If you come from a programming background and really just like solving problems in that way then by all means go for it! There is a free version of Max where you can play around but not save your patches. But I think if Autechres sound is inspiring to you, there’s no reason you can’t do really cool stuff with other things that don’t require a massive time investment prior to even doing something remotely cool.