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How I Learned to Code

viniciusvacanti.com

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Re: How I Learned to Code

#21

Post by Dewie »

billyjobob wrote: post #3

All 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 never guessed what programming was like before I started my introductory university course on it. All those years of using computers had never really given me an inkling to try it, but when I did, I really liked it (it was also very frustrating at times).

I guess I'll never be a good, passionate programmer, but it's the only thing that I seem to like that also brings with it a paycheck.

EDIT: I have spoken one language since I was three, two languages since I guess I was 14, but it wasn't until I started learning a third language that I realized that human languages in themselves are pretty interesting, with all their different grammatical constructions and peculiar ways of expressing semantics.

Re: How I Learned to Code

#22

Post by scrabble »

ajwaxman wrote: post #10

As 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…

Maybe this depends on your age. A lot of people learn to code as a child, and at that stage you're really not doing anything full time.

Starting as a 10 year old, I began learning to code and spent maybe 20-30 hours / week on it combined with school and friends. All of that time was during nights and weekends.

I think having a real project you want to build is a good start. I also think that a keen interest in the topic and a passion for learning will overcome most other obstacles.

Re: How I Learned to Code

#24

Post by jeandlr »

This piece is bound to push you back yet another time to see whether you really have the guts to learn coding. The author simply shares his experience and some advices. I think it's pretty straight and consistent actually.

Re: How I Learned to Code

#25

Post by soneca »

Jgrubb wrote: post #5

This 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 conte…

Exactly. I share a very very similar story with the author, execpt that I am not successfull yet. His story had everything to inspire me, someone who followed my exactly same path and made it.

Then, after reading it, I feel that he is more interested in creating a brand, building an audience, than sharing his story and inspiring people. I think I will have to find out some other "learned to code and created a company" role model.

Re: How I Learned to Code

#26

Post by kafkaesque »

As someone who writes for a company, I understand the goal is to get a person to read your article, but I feel uncomfortable by the disingenuity of the title. It tells me one thing, then the article ends with the opposite conclusion.

Sure, you got me to read it, but it felt too forced/contrived and salesman-like.

Anyway, I'm a beginner in programming/coding/scripting. I take courses online. After work. On the weekends.

I'm sure there is certainly a group of people for which what Vinicius says is true, so in terms of that, it's good to have someone write this out. However, it is more important to see/analyse if what he says applies to you.

What he says does not apply to me. I am 30 years old, have just started learning to program, and my birthday is a week away.

I am genuinely interested in it. My mind always worked in ways which help when programming. While I spent most of my life in the (liberal) arts, I think there is a strong correlation between my excelling in my previous endeavours with my capability to grasp programming concepts. I can't say my approach is the only way to do extremely well in it, because, as they say, there is more than one way to skin a cat. But I guess this middle-ground type of writing is not very good copy.

All that aside, congratulations to Vinicius for learning to code.

Re: How I Learned to Code

#28

Post by Dewie »

ctdonath wrote: post #13
billyjobob wrote: post #3

All 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…

Indeed; coding is akin to music, art, etc. in that it's not so much you learn to do it, but it's just what you do as a result of you being you. Sure, learning is necessary to grasp the tools and make them do what you want, but once you have enough tools to get started (editor/compiler, guitar, paint & brush) you just run with it. At age 10 Dad brought home a terminal and had me type in a 3-line program; ran it once,…

> Indeed; coding is akin to music, art, etc. in that it's not so much you learn to do it, but it's just what you do as a result of you being you.

That's pretty easy to say for someone who's dad seems to have had the same interest. I was brought up by a mom that can't tell a bass guitar from a guitar and a dad who doesn't really have an interest in music other than a music 'collection' of 8 CD's from the sixties and who probably does not have a sense of rhythm. Thankfully I had some peers who played music and parents that bought me my first instrument, but actually practicing and getting good at an instrument is (to me) a very tedious and deliberate form of practice that can take a very long amount of time if you happen to be mainly interested in a type of music that happens to be challenging to play - like what I was interested in. Practicing programming for four hours is more fun and less draining than properly practicing an instrument for one hour, for me. To keep it short; low self-esteem, and especially a lack of social self-esteem, and lack of discipline when it comes to practice; if my so-called "passion" for music wasn't able to help me battle through those things, I guess it wasn't much of an interest or passion to begin with, eh...

Re: How I Learned to Code

#29

Post by teilo »

kranner wrote: post #15
teilo wrote: post #7

In writing we call this "The Genius of Desperation".

That is an interesting expression. If it's very established, do you have a reference where I can read more about it? Google turns up nothing but a quote by Disraeli.

I heard it from an old colleague and mentor of mine who is now long dead, having lived well into his 90's. I've used it ever since. I'd never heard the Disraeli quote before. Good stuff.

Re: How I Learned to Code

#30

Post by anuragramdasan »

A LOT of people learn to code on a need to know basis. It may be a common practice too but i really do not think it should be propagated as the thing to do. This is a really horrible approach to coding. Searching for stackoverflow will only lead to you getting a solution to the problem without having any understanding of the problem itself. There is a good chance that if you learn this way, you will find yourself heading back to stackoverflow when the problem arises again and you forget what you did last time.
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