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Why does using google and stackoverflow get a negative connotation? There's a collection of information on a topic that's larger than any other collection in t

Why does using google and stackoverflow get a negative connotation? There's a collection of information on a topic that's larger than any other collection in the history of mankind, and we can search it in minutes. Why shouldn't that be the first option? And those solutions certainly don't preclude the "think" option, they augment it (Also, I've already RTFM).

epenn 15y ago
tl;dr of my post: Thinking through a problem and not going to the web first makes you a better programmer, instead of relying on the better programming of others. The negative connotation depends on what you're using google and stackoverflow for. If you need to understand something that can't be directly reasoned through to come to an answer (random example: you need a description for an API call in some public web service) then there's nothing wrong with google, stackoverflow, etc being your first choice in search for your solution. However, if it's a problem that -can- be directly reasoned through (random examples: any application logic issue, determining a regex to match a specific pattern, tree traversal issues, etc, etc) then your first choice should be to try to figure it out yourself before turning to the web. The rationale is twofold. 1) With enough practice, you'll often find you can solve your own issues faster than you can dig through websites trying to find someone else who has done the same. 2) Even if you ultimately can't find a solution on your own, attempting will at least exercise your brain and give you more experience, which feeds back into #1. Another way of stating the rationale is that it helps to prevent cargo cult programming (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult_programming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult_programming). Even if you can't come up with a solution, or even if your solution is less than optimal, attempting to come up with your own answer first gives you a much better chance of understanding the underlying principles involved in the solution that google, stackoverflow, etc give you. That will minimize the chances that you apply the solution in a half-assed way that just causes you more problems down the road because you didn't fully understand its implications. It will help you in the long run.
adestefan 15y ago
> And those solutions certainly don't preclude the "think" option, they augment it (Also, I've already RTFM). Most people don't do these steps at all anymore.

epenn 15y ago

tl;dr of my post: Thinking through a problem and not going to the web first makes you a better programmer, instead of relying on the better programming of others. The negative connotation depends on what you're using google and stackoverflow for. If you need to understand something that can't be directly reasoned through to come to an answer (random example: you need a description for an API call in some public web service) then there's nothing wrong with google, stackoverflow, etc being your first choice in search for your solution. However, if it's a problem that -can- be directly reasoned through (random examples: any application logic issue, determining a regex to match a specific pattern, tree traversal issues, etc, etc) then your first choice should be to try to figure it out yourself before turning to the web. The rationale is twofold. 1) With enough practice, you'll often find you can solve your own issues faster than you can dig through websites trying to find someone else who has done the same. 2) Even if you ultimately can't find a solution on your own, attempting will at least exercise your brain and give you more experience, which feeds back into #1. Another way of stating the rationale is that it helps to prevent cargo cult programming (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult_programming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult_programming). Even if you can't come up with a solution, or even if your solution is less than optimal, attempting to come up with your own answer first gives you a much better chance of understanding the underlying principles involved in the solution that google, stackoverflow, etc give you. That will minimize the chances that you apply the solution in a half-assed way that just causes you more problems down the road because you didn't fully understand its implications. It will help you in the long run.

adestefan 15y ago

> And those solutions certainly don't preclude the "think" option, they augment it (Also, I've already RTFM). Most people don't do these steps at all anymore.