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> in some weird way they must have ENJOYED struggling and thought it meant they were learning or solving something hard I'm not sure why you're incredulous abo
by theossuary 7y ago
> in some weird way they must have ENJOYED struggling and thought it meant they were learning or solving something hard
I'm not sure why you're incredulous about this? If you're struggling to write your own JSON parser, you are learning something new by doing something hard. Maybe you're not learning a lot (if you're just brute-forcing it), but you're still learning. Being in flow means you aren't learning, it isn't deliberate practice.
If somebody was wasting a lot of time rewriting a library instead of using it, it might be time to have a discussion on learning vs delivering value. I think 20%-30% is the sweet spot of learning vs producing.
- silveroriole 7y agoI think enjoying the struggle will lead you wrong more often than not. I normally find that if I’m really struggling, it doesn’t mean I’m learning, it means I’m missing some information and I need to seek guidance. I’ve always learned more from looking at a successful existing implementation than trying to brute force my own solution (though it’s fun/useful to have a pop at something on your own first, of chorse). Sure, you need some tenacity and concentration, but I don’t understand people who will happily and repeatedly bash their head against a wall for hours without ever checking whether there’s a way around the wall!