I suppose fear literally is the mind-killer. I've noticed that my own depth of comprehension is far better when I explore and experiment first, and not study t

I suppose fear literally is the mind-killer. I've noticed that my own depth of comprehension is far better when I explore and experiment first, and not study the formalized knowledge from a textbook/documentation until I'm satisfied that I have at least grasped the fundamental patterns on my own. This works not just in computing, but in almost every context (or at least those that don't have the potential to cause serious damage or injury).