3 ms·

Ask HN: If you have a hard time reading can you still be good programmer?

12 points by Onixelen 10y ago

spotman 10y ago
Depends how hard you try, but don't let reading stop you! My greatest mentor was mostly blind. He could see the terminal but would need to be about 2-4 inches away and would be energetically moving his head as he read the contents of the screen.
nness 10y ago
I have a degenerative eye disease and have worn many different variety of contact lenses (RGP, scleral, piggy-backing etc) before eventually undergoing a corneal transplant. I made do for years, it has never been much of an inhibitor.
- md8 10y ago
  keratoconus ?
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
amorphid 10y ago
I have a super hard time reading. ADHD and all that. Getting started with a new tool is hard, but I power through it. Sooner or later it gets easier.
jerven 10y ago
One of the most impressive programmers I know is blind. So yes,it is possible. Being dyslexic myself I can say some languages are easier for some people than others. For example I like java verbosity and camel case as it helps with my particular variety of reading problems. This frustrated me because I love python in its philosophy but I can't work in it.
dqdo 10y ago
My brother reads on average 0 to 1 book a year and he is a better code than me. I personally read about 50 books per year. There is nothing about programming that requires you to be a good reader. If you are an avid reader, you will get some more interesting ideas to make your life and work more fulfilling. If you study another language, you will find many similarities with the grammar structure of a "human" language and the grammar structure of most programming languages leading to much cleaner and more well formed code. As a programmer, as long as you can think clearly about your problem, understand your users, and have a good understanding of the documentation of the tools that you are using you should be fine. Reading more exposes us to ideas that we would usually never think of ourselves but in my personal experience there are few ideas that come through this way. Most things come to you the old fashion way -- trial and error. As long as you are persistent and dedicated to your craft you can become a good programmer regardless of where you start and how often you read.
- mod 10y ago
  > and have a good understanding of the documentation of the tools that you are using This is really the counterpoint to what you're saying. You have to read documentation. It's dense and boring. It's the hardest thing to read. A poor reader is going to have a rough time with it, IMO--particularly so if they stumble into a poorly documented tool or API.
bjourne 10y ago
It depends on what "hard time reading" really means. But generally the answer is no.
stevenwiles 10y ago
Yes, some of the best programmers I've ever met had a hard time reading.
makach 10y ago
yes, most code is (jokingly): write once, read never^^ It is also said that it is 10x more difficult to read code than to write it. If you enjoy it, practice. Comment well. If there is something you don't understand, rewrite, break it up into smaller pieces. it really takes a long time to understand things, considerable effort is most of the time required - but it gets easier as your skills improve. For your own sake or for whomever might read code in the future. Keep it small, simple - It really helps!

12 points by Onixelen 10y ago

Depends how hard you try, but don't let reading stop you! My greatest mentor was mostly blind. He could see the terminal but would need to be about 2-4 inches away and would be energetically moving his head as he read the contents of the screen.

nness 10y ago

I have a degenerative eye disease and have worn many different variety of contact lenses (RGP, scleral, piggy-backing etc) before eventually undergoing a corneal transplant. I made do for years, it has never been much of an inhibitor.

md8 10y ago
keratoconus ?

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

amorphid 10y ago

I have a super hard time reading. ADHD and all that. Getting started with a new tool is hard, but I power through it. Sooner or later it gets easier.

jerven 10y ago

One of the most impressive programmers I know is blind. So yes,it is possible. Being dyslexic myself I can say some languages are easier for some people than others. For example I like java verbosity and camel case as it helps with my particular variety of reading problems. This frustrated me because I love python in its philosophy but I can't work in it.

dqdo 10y ago

My brother reads on average 0 to 1 book a year and he is a better code than me. I personally read about 50 books per year. There is nothing about programming that requires you to be a good reader. If you are an avid reader, you will get some more interesting ideas to make your life and work more fulfilling. If you study another language, you will find many similarities with the grammar structure of a "human" language and the grammar structure of most programming languages leading to much cleaner and more well formed code. As a programmer, as long as you can think clearly about your problem, understand your users, and have a good understanding of the documentation of the tools that you are using you should be fine. Reading more exposes us to ideas that we would usually never think of ourselves but in my personal experience there are few ideas that come through this way. Most things come to you the old fashion way -- trial and error. As long as you are persistent and dedicated to your craft you can become a good programmer regardless of where you start and how often you read.

mod 10y ago
> and have a good understanding of the documentation of the tools that you are using This is really the counterpoint to what you're saying. You have to read documentation. It's dense and boring. It's the hardest thing to read. A poor reader is going to have a rough time with it, IMO--particularly so if they stumble into a poorly documented tool or API.

bjourne 10y ago

It depends on what "hard time reading" really means. But generally the answer is no.

stevenwiles 10y ago

Yes, some of the best programmers I've ever met had a hard time reading.

makach 10y ago

yes, most code is (jokingly): write once, read never^^ It is also said that it is 10x more difficult to read code than to write it. If you enjoy it, practice. Comment well. If there is something you don't understand, rewrite, break it up into smaller pieces. it really takes a long time to understand things, considerable effort is most of the time required - but it gets easier as your skills improve. For your own sake or for whomever might read code in the future. Keep it small, simple - It really helps!