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Wish I had learned Python at that age! Nowadays I'm so stuck in my ways (and burned out on 'development') that I can't get myself to pick it up... as wonderful

Wish I had learned Python at that age! Nowadays I'm so stuck in my ways (and burned out on 'development') that I can't get myself to pick it up... as wonderfully useful as I know it would be

musicale 5y ago
You can pick up the basics of Python in an afternoon. Perhaps the strangest bit for people used to other languages is signifiant indentation. Some hate it, but most people seem to adjust to it OK.
- smtibor 5y ago
  Respectfully, I think we need to stop with this idea of "You can pick up the basics of Python in an afternoon." I think it's more specific than that. You can pick up the SYNTAX of python in an afternoon, if you have experience in coding in other languages. If you're also learning programming concepts and computational thinking skills, then it can take much longer. And that's a good thing! One of the frustrations I see with students is that they think they are stupid for not picking up things as easily as I do. I have to remind them that I started coding more than 20 years ago. They didn't see all of the years of frustration and struggle when I was first learning how to code. We need to normalize that everyone proceeds on their path with coding at different paces. It's great if you can learn a ton in an afternoon. It's also great if someone learns the same amount in a week, or a month, or a year.
  - bravetraveler 5y ago
    Thank you, I agree! While they're right, I can probably pick it up in an afternoon... that's really not my goal. There's this weird behavior I've found in myself, where I don't just want to get started/be familiar, but I want to be good. I think this is common, and it simply comes with practice. That's more where my... burnout from development comes in. I could pick up the basics quickly, but unless I can get past this urge to stick with what I truly know in order to practice, it's another likely source of 'imposter syndrome' (for lack of a better term)
    - smtibor 5y ago
      Maybe it's time to try doing something totally different than "development?" Have you done anything with Python hardware like CircuitPython with Adafruit's boards? You may find it refreshing to think about coding in the hardware space where the mindset is different than pure development....
- bravetraveler 5y ago
  I definitely think I could, and I appreciate the boost! I'm generally aware of some Python rules already through associates, and a lot of scripting/proper programming - so I definitely agree. I could pick it up quickly. I personally just find it difficult to get the gumption to pick up development-style things anymore. I can tolerate a good bit of (bash) scripting, Ansible, etc - but Python gets a little too close for me ('factories' to make objects of objects, etc). While it would be useful, the amount of 'practice'/grey matter shaping necessary to get good enough to get there... harder to undertake (when my current habits have done 'okay')

Wish I had learned Python at that age! Nowadays I'm so stuck in my ways (and burned out on 'development') that I can't get myself to pick it up... as wonderfully useful as I know it would be

musicale 5y ago

You can pick up the basics of Python in an afternoon. Perhaps the strangest bit for people used to other languages is signifiant indentation. Some hate it, but most people seem to adjust to it OK.

smtibor 5y ago
Respectfully, I think we need to stop with this idea of "You can pick up the basics of Python in an afternoon." I think it's more specific than that. You can pick up the SYNTAX of python in an afternoon, if you have experience in coding in other languages. If you're also learning programming concepts and computational thinking skills, then it can take much longer. And that's a good thing! One of the frustrations I see with students is that they think they are stupid for not picking up things as easily as I do. I have to remind them that I started coding more than 20 years ago. They didn't see all of the years of frustration and struggle when I was first learning how to code. We need to normalize that everyone proceeds on their path with coding at different paces. It's great if you can learn a ton in an afternoon. It's also great if someone learns the same amount in a week, or a month, or a year.
- bravetraveler 5y ago
  Thank you, I agree! While they're right, I can probably pick it up in an afternoon... that's really not my goal. There's this weird behavior I've found in myself, where I don't just want to get started/be familiar, but I want to be good. I think this is common, and it simply comes with practice. That's more where my... burnout from development comes in. I could pick up the basics quickly, but unless I can get past this urge to stick with what I truly know in order to practice, it's another likely source of 'imposter syndrome' (for lack of a better term)
  - smtibor 5y ago
    Maybe it's time to try doing something totally different than "development?" Have you done anything with Python hardware like CircuitPython with Adafruit's boards? You may find it refreshing to think about coding in the hardware space where the mindset is different than pure development....
bravetraveler 5y ago
I definitely think I could, and I appreciate the boost! I'm generally aware of some Python rules already through associates, and a lot of scripting/proper programming - so I definitely agree. I could pick it up quickly. I personally just find it difficult to get the gumption to pick up development-style things anymore. I can tolerate a good bit of (bash) scripting, Ansible, etc - but Python gets a little too close for me ('factories' to make objects of objects, etc). While it would be useful, the amount of 'practice'/grey matter shaping necessary to get good enough to get there... harder to undertake (when my current habits have done 'okay')