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Ask HN: How can I tell if I have programming aptitude?

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Re: Ask HN: How can I tell if I have programming aptitude?

#61

Post by sharemywin »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #54
hauget wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I program for money, often hating it, because I'm relatively competent at it, and then I program for fun because I love it I'm in the same boat! I increasingly believe I may have an attention deficit disorder on top of diagnosed depression I'm dealing with Have you tried exercising, getting enough sleep, eating healthier, doing more "outside" or social activities and/or testing out nootropics like citicoline/noopept?…

> Have you tried exercising, getting enough sleep, eating healthier, doing more "outside" or social activities and/or testing out nootropics like citicoline/noopept? Oh, the usual stuff ;). Tried all of these at various points; haven't noticed much difference, but I think I might not have tried enough. Going item-by-item: - Exercising: probably not enough; the amounts I did didn't really affect much (except weight),…

I read a trick about writing everything down you need to get done so you don't get that feeling at night your going to forget to do something in the morning. helps sometimes.

Re: Ask HN: How can I tell if I have programming aptitude?

#63

Post by TeMPOraL »

sharemywin wrote: post #61
TeMPOraL wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Have you tried exercising, getting enough sleep, eating healthier, doing more "outside" or social activities and/or testing out nootropics like citicoline/noopept? Oh, the usual stuff ;). Tried all of these at various points; haven't noticed much difference, but I think I might not have tried enough. Going item-by-item: - Exercising: probably not enough; the amounts I did didn't really affect much (except weight),…

I read a trick about writing everything down you need to get done so you don't get that feeling at night your going to forget to do something in the morning. helps sometimes.

It works.

The feeling I have is more of a "I've done so little today and there's still so much to do, I can't go to sleep yet".

Re: Ask HN: How can I tell if I have programming aptitude?

#64

Post by canicode »

bradcomp wrote: post #4

I think aptitude is overrated compared to overall drive / obsession. You should pursue programming if it's something you want to pursue. Do you like solving problems? How stoked are you when you figure out the cause of your bug? Would you pursue it even if it wasn't lucrative? Project Euler has some good puzzles, they are somewhat math related but cover a lot of interesting concepts and can be fun to work through.

I'm definitely not obsessed with programming. I can force myself to practice regularly, though. All it takes is discipline.

I wouldn't pursue it if it wasn't lucrative; that'd be irrational. But I'm not interested in money alone. I also want time, and the ability to create things that generate some sort of business value. Does an investment banker like what they do on a day-to-day basis? Plugging stuff into Excel? No, that's mind-numbing. But they get their satisfaction from seeing a deal that they participated in featured on WSJ.

I also want a hard skill. Being an "idea guy," doesn't cut it.

Re: Ask HN: How can I tell if I have programming aptitude?

#65

Post by galfarragem »

jrapdx3 wrote: post #48
weland wrote: post #37

Here's a little story that I tell to anyone who asks me this question. It's how I got it answered for me a long time ago. > How can I tell if I have programming aptitude? I have a friend who's a painter. She's a visual artist with a fair deal of success; she can actually live out of her art (and by that I mean she actually sells her paintings for a living, she doesn't just design logos to buy her a little time for he…

> ...I'm a little envious on anyone who has a talent for drawing. Among the artists I know, some have taught drawing at art schools. They've all said drawing and art talent are altogether separate matters. Drawing is about reproducing measurements , a skill anyone able to hold a pencil can learn. Geometry class might be a good start. > ... the ones whojust practiced a lot. have a talent for this are the likes of Pica…

People that excel in something are far less than the ones we perceive as such. Most of these 'talented' people have only above average skills, a big dosis of charisma, ability of selling and a bit of luck.

Re: Ask HN: How can I tell if I have programming aptitude?

#66

Post by canicode »

weland wrote: post #37

Here's a little story that I tell to anyone who asks me this question. It's how I got it answered for me a long time ago. > How can I tell if I have programming aptitude? I have a friend who's a painter. She's a visual artist with a fair deal of success; she can actually live out of her art (and by that I mean she actually sells her paintings for a living, she doesn't just design logos to buy her a little time for he…

I see a lot of people that can do things much better, and faster than me. It's intimidating. There are also some problems that I can't even solve in pseudo code. I literally just can't come up with an algorithm that would work. I get a few ideas, and then quickly realize that they're all terrible. Yet I'm sure that there are people that can look at the same problem and come up with 5 different solutions in 30 seconds. I can do a lot of problems, but I think it's just because they're easy. Every time I stumble upon one I can't do without looking stuff up, it ruins my whole day. I begin to get really frustrated and wonder if I just don't have the right type of mind to be a programmer.

That's why I was asking for a problem. I need one that will tell me if I have the right brain wiring/mind. "If you can't do this without outside help in X minutes, you should quit learning to program." Not incredibly easy like FizzBuzz, but not incredibly difficult. Somewhere in the middle.

Re: Ask HN: How can I tell if I have programming aptitude?

#67

Post by galfarragem »

As an architect (houses) and an hobbyist programmer I see a lot of similarities between these activities: they are theoretically creative work but normally is not your creative aptitude that will land you a job. There are far less creative roles than boring ones..

Re: Ask HN: How can I tell if I have programming aptitude?

#69

Post by boona »

canicode wrote: post #66
weland wrote: post #37

Here's a little story that I tell to anyone who asks me this question. It's how I got it answered for me a long time ago. > How can I tell if I have programming aptitude? I have a friend who's a painter. She's a visual artist with a fair deal of success; she can actually live out of her art (and by that I mean she actually sells her paintings for a living, she doesn't just design logos to buy her a little time for he…

I see a lot of people that can do things much better, and faster than me. It's intimidating. There are also some problems that I can't even solve in pseudo code. I literally just can't come up with an algorithm that would work. I get a few ideas, and then quickly realize that they're all terrible. Yet I'm sure that there are people that can look at the same problem and come up with 5 different solutions in 30 seconds…

> I see a lot of people that can do things much better, and faster than me. It's intimidating.

I think there is a mindset issue at play here. Instead of thinking "Wow, that person is such an elite hacker, I wish I had been born with that talent." think of it as "Wow, it was amazing how they came up with that solution. I want to learn how they did it so I can do the same.".

Stated different, ask people their process. If they came up with a solution that was much better than yours, ask them how they came about it. It may look like they've magically came up with a solution, but they do have a mental process that brought them to it. Find out what it is, internalize it and make it your own.

Re: Ask HN: How can I tell if I have programming aptitude?

#70

Post by canicode »

boona wrote: post #69
canicode wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see a lot of people that can do things much better, and faster than me. It's intimidating. There are also some problems that I can't even solve in pseudo code. I literally just can't come up with an algorithm that would work. I get a few ideas, and then quickly realize that they're all terrible. Yet I'm sure that there are people that can look at the same problem and come up with 5 different solutions in 30 seconds…

> I see a lot of people that can do things much better, and faster than me. It's intimidating. I think there is a mindset issue at play here. Instead of thinking "Wow, that person is such an elite hacker, I wish I had been born with that talent." think of it as "Wow, it was amazing how they came up with that solution. I want to learn how they did it so I can do the same.". Stated different, ask people their process.…

It feels like cheating though. Once you ask someone for help, the problem is dead. You haven't solved it yourself, and now even if you do solve it, it won't count. Someone told you how to do it. Your interviewer isn't going to help you with technical questions.
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