How I Learned to Code
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How I Learned to Code
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Re: How I Learned to Code
#2Doing "whatever it takes to make it work" creates profoundly different results as opposed to "learning how things work".
Re: How I Learned to Code
#3All the good coders I've ever met had already taught themselves to code before the age of 10. (Most of them were so passionate about it they went on to do computer science degrees which polished their raw skills and taught them rigor.) The question isn't how to learn to code: if you have the innate ability you can't STOP yourself from coding the first time you encounter a computer. I'm all for people learning new skills later in life, but to force yourself to learn something you have no passion for just because you want to 'do a startup' is ridiculous.
Re: How I Learned to Code
#4Yet another reason for teaching programming at high school. This is not about learning programming, but about gaining a mindset that is not easily learned unless you really need (or want) to get through it.
And people who does not understand how systems so central in our society work is in the core of several recent political problems and conflicts.
Re: How I Learned to Code
#5This is almost offensively linkbait-y. In the "most popular posts" sidebar you have "Everyone at Yipit is Now Learning to Code". Why will I never learn to code? You never get to that part.
By the way, I decided to "learn to code" at age 30, and I find it interesting. Then again, I was also full of platitudes when I was in my 20s.
edit: the submission was retitled to something actually pertinent to the article's content, rather than the title of the article "Why You Will Never Learn to Code", which is shit IMO.
Re: How I Learned to Code
#6All the good coders I've ever met had already taught themselves to code before the age of 10. (Most of them were so passionate about it they went on to do computer science degrees which polished their raw skills and taught them rigor.) The question isn't how to learn to code: if you have the innate ability you can't STOP yourself from coding the first time you encounter a computer. I'm all for people learning new ski…
Ridiculous just like doing anything else you don't have a passion for is ridiculous? Like paying bills? Accounting?
He wanted to start a company. That implied, in his case, learning to code.
Just like finishing my degree implied long days working to pay it (wasn't very passionate about cleaning barracks I can tell you ;-)
(Btw, I'm one of those who started coding at age 12 by picking up the c64 manual.)
Re: How I Learned to Code
#7In writing we call this "The Genius of Desperation".
Re: How I Learned to Code
#8The time investment is key and the OP is dead on. I can speak to trying to learn Objective-C last year on nights/weekends and not really learning the fundamentals behind I was doing, despite being able to follow along with the books I was reading and the rudimentary apps I was building. It requires a full-time commitment, which is why so many of the development "intensive" programs and workshops are time intensive (at least 8 hours per day) over anything else.
Unfortunately, the time commitment becomes prohibitive to those that have to keep running the job/consulting treadmill and can't fall back on an investment banker salary (or similar) to fund their creative ambitions for a year or more. That unfortunately is the real answer to the post's title.
Re: How I Learned to Code
#9All the good coders I've ever met had already taught themselves to code before the age of 10. (Most of them were so passionate about it they went on to do computer science degrees which polished their raw skills and taught them rigor.) The question isn't how to learn to code: if you have the innate ability you can't STOP yourself from coding the first time you encounter a computer. I'm all for people learning new ski…
I'm not a half-bad coder, and I didn't start until I was 15. I don't necessarily think there's an age limit (and it's definitely not 10!) but, as you say, there is a certain, innate wiring that seems to be required. You need to be the kind of person who likes to understand what makes things work. If you've got that, the rest will come with practice.
Re: How I Learned to Code
#10As an investment banking analyst who was learning to code "on the side" for 6+ months and then finally decided to quit my job and learn to code full time in January, I can't agree more with this article. Learning to code part time doesn't work. You need motivation, and you need to dive into coding head first. Zach Shapiro has some great tips related to learning to program similar to this article:
1. Nights, weekends are bad 2. Forget codecademy 3. Have a real project you want to build
Check out the full article here: http://blog.zackshapiro.com/want-to-learn-to-code-start-here...