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In my own experience as both a young software developer and now as a more experienced leader, the work of learning isn’t unpleasant at all. Is it hard to find t

In my own experience as both a young software developer and now as a more experienced leader, the work of learning isn’t unpleasant at all. Is it hard to find the motivation to learn at times? Certainly! But afterwards I’m never regretful because I feel as if I’ve gained a new superpower. I spent the last 3 months or so ramping up with a company working with half a dozen technologies I had no experience with, and today I feel capable enough at each of them that I could run the product myself without too many hiccups (though albeit at a much slower pace). The skill of learning is by far the most valuable in this field.

domevent 9y ago
I agree, and I’d add that I find learning to be like any other activity, in that practice makes me better at it. I’m also not infrequently surprised by connections to “useless” learned material that only crops up months or years later. As far as motivation, I think practice helps too; you get used to gathering yourself and pushing forward or you get used to giving up, and I prefer pushing on. I also just enjoy learning, I love making new connections and synthesis of existing knowledge with new information.
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not_a_moth 9y ago
Yet your anecdote is within a domain you are already familiar with and strong in. Rather, it depends on the difficulty and the how far the material is from your comfort zone. Never studied math? Take on the state of art in AI research. Never played the piano? Learn a Chopin ballade. Never read much? Consume the cannon of a Joyce or James. Extreme examples, yet I believe it applies to formidable gaps within fields too, knowing a number of PhDs and what they went through: learning things that are both outside of your comfort zone and considered difficult will almost certainly require a significant amount of discipline and head-banging.
westoncb 9y ago
The main factor I've noticed having an impact on the enjoyability of learning is: do I feel I have to learn the thing, or am I just choosing to? It seems like the unpleasantness emerges from anxiety about potential failure to learn the material. If you don't actually need to (not just in terms of external things, but personally, too), then there is no need to fear failure. The more necessary it is to learn the thing and the more uncertain you are of your capability of doing so, the more unpleasant it's going to be.

domevent 9y ago

I agree, and I’d add that I find learning to be like any other activity, in that practice makes me better at it. I’m also not infrequently surprised by connections to “useless” learned material that only crops up months or years later. As far as motivation, I think practice helps too; you get used to gathering yourself and pushing forward or you get used to giving up, and I prefer pushing on. I also just enjoy learning, I love making new connections and synthesis of existing knowledge with new information.

deleted 9y ago
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not_a_moth 9y ago

Yet your anecdote is within a domain you are already familiar with and strong in. Rather, it depends on the difficulty and the how far the material is from your comfort zone. Never studied math? Take on the state of art in AI research. Never played the piano? Learn a Chopin ballade. Never read much? Consume the cannon of a Joyce or James. Extreme examples, yet I believe it applies to formidable gaps within fields too, knowing a number of PhDs and what they went through: learning things that are both outside of your comfort zone and considered difficult will almost certainly require a significant amount of discipline and head-banging.

westoncb 9y ago

The main factor I've noticed having an impact on the enjoyability of learning is: do I feel I have to learn the thing, or am I just choosing to? It seems like the unpleasantness emerges from anxiety about potential failure to learn the material. If you don't actually need to (not just in terms of external things, but personally, too), then there is no need to fear failure. The more necessary it is to learn the thing and the more uncertain you are of your capability of doing so, the more unpleasant it's going to be.