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Congrats. Programming is made out to be a hard thing and for people who don't think logically it is. But to a logically thinking person it's like the greatest

Congrats. Programming is made out to be a hard thing and for people who don't think logically it is. But to a logically thinking person it's like the greatest game you'll ever discover.

naithemilkman 16y ago
I was intimidated for the longest time about picking it up. Partly because I wasn't spectacular at math or algebra or statistics and all the arcane calculus. Part of the perfectionist in me was also trying to understand everything that happened. Like what actually happens when I enter Console.WriteLine("Hello world");? That is always going to be a losing better so I've since subscribed to the "I know how to drive but I don't know how a car operates" school of thought. Somewhere along the way, I realised programming isnt about hardcore math but more like just grouping actions together in a logical manner.
- amackera 16y ago
  Perhaps programming doesn't resemble your perception of the maths you've been exposed to, but honestly all of maths is grouping together actions in a logical way. Programming is very much a certain kind of mathematics (though if it helps to think of them as distinct, by all means do so!). I relate very much to your perfectionist statement. Keep in mind that each thing you learn about how the underlying machine operates will make you a more effective programmer. Learn about the craft of programming (patterns of design, abstraction, etc.), but don't lose sight of the fact that programs run on physical machines, and our bound by the properties of those machines.
gnaritas 16y ago
Even for seemingly logical people, until you've done battle with a computer by programming, you probably don't realize how sloppy your thinking really is. Programming will make you more logical just as push-ups will make you more muscular.
jacquesm 16y ago
it also tends to teach you just how sloppy your thinking usually is with uncanny precision, probably more than you like. Computers invariably do what you tell them to do with great precision and speed but almost never what you want them to do. The number of times that I've stared at a single line knowing that I was looking at the source of the problem and still not seeing the wood for the trees is best left unmentioned... Programming is a harsh mistress, but the rewards are worth it.

Congrats. Programming is made out to be a hard thing and for people who don't think logically it is. But to a logically thinking person it's like the greatest game you'll ever discover.

naithemilkman 16y ago

I was intimidated for the longest time about picking it up. Partly because I wasn't spectacular at math or algebra or statistics and all the arcane calculus. Part of the perfectionist in me was also trying to understand everything that happened. Like what actually happens when I enter Console.WriteLine("Hello world");? That is always going to be a losing better so I've since subscribed to the "I know how to drive but I don't know how a car operates" school of thought. Somewhere along the way, I realised programming isnt about hardcore math but more like just grouping actions together in a logical manner.

amackera 16y ago
Perhaps programming doesn't resemble your perception of the maths you've been exposed to, but honestly all of maths is grouping together actions in a logical way. Programming is very much a certain kind of mathematics (though if it helps to think of them as distinct, by all means do so!). I relate very much to your perfectionist statement. Keep in mind that each thing you learn about how the underlying machine operates will make you a more effective programmer. Learn about the craft of programming (patterns of design, abstraction, etc.), but don't lose sight of the fact that programs run on physical machines, and our bound by the properties of those machines.

gnaritas 16y ago

Even for seemingly logical people, until you've done battle with a computer by programming, you probably don't realize how sloppy your thinking really is. Programming will make you more logical just as push-ups will make you more muscular.

jacquesm 16y ago

it also tends to teach you just how sloppy your thinking usually is with uncanny precision, probably more than you like. Computers invariably do what you tell them to do with great precision and speed but almost never what you want them to do. The number of times that I've stared at a single line knowing that I was looking at the source of the problem and still not seeing the wood for the trees is best left unmentioned... Programming is a harsh mistress, but the rewards are worth it.