Don’t Believe Anyone Who Tells You Learning To Code Is Easy
Oce Eeco stashed this in Coding
"One of the most dangerous things I’ve seen happen to people who are just starting to code is being told that it’s easy.
Here’s what your brain does:"
"I’ve found my experience to follow that line closely, and came up with this Recursive Recipe for Learning to Program:
- Follow a tutorial step-by-step even if you don’t always understand what you’re doing. I like to think of Hunter S. Thompson copying the books of the Great Masters on his typewriter. You’re getting a feel for how things are done in your new language/framework. This part should be easy, if boring, because you’re just doing what you’re told. [Incline of Optimism]
- Rebuild the thing you just made or a slight variation of it. Try not to use the tutorial too much. Realize just how little you understood of what you were doing. [Fear tugs, slowing your ascent]
- Try to build something simple that you actually want to make. Discover that you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing. [Sea of Despair]
- Find a new tutorial related to your new project. (Hopefully your tutorials are providing you with increasing background on the language.) Follow the steps. [Slight sense of understanding, rise in self-worth]
- Rebuild the thing yourself. [Fear]
- Start a new project. [Despair]
- Repeat steps 1 through 6. "
Stashed in: Rage!, For Milo, Learn to program.
Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something.
Dark mood today Adam? : )
Haha, no, I just agree with the author that no one should claim that coding is easy.
I would add to these points that the best way to start, is to start with someone who's experienced already, could be a teacher, or a nerd friend, but someone, someone experienced next to you is always peta-times more effective than the whole internet.
Or at least have them available for when you get stuck.
They don't have to be with you all the time, just mostly when you need to ask a question.
6:34 AM May 25 2014