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In case anyone wants details on what I'm doing: I started by learning Javascript and found I could understand the concepts and syntax/logic easily enough to ha

In case anyone wants details on what I'm doing: I started by learning Javascript and found I could understand the concepts and syntax/logic easily enough to have intelligent conversations about strategy with my cofounders, even enough to help with brain locks they had, but found it a little hard to solve my own problems. After learning Python for a couple of weeks, I found that problem disappeared. With Python, I can just THINK and then write what I'm thinking, which is a huge upgrade for a newbie like me. I'm going to stick with learning design (including JQuery stuff, which I didn't mention but I have already learned and actually implemented to some extent) and Python to attempt to limit the scope of my learning in order to progress faster toward some degree of mastery.

KirinDave 14y ago
I think your attitude is amazing, and I wish more people had it. Keep at it! But here is a fair warning: this stuff is hard because it's genuinely tricky. Computers are unforgiving in a way the human mind can never be. So be warned: there are other walls like the one you just vaulted over, and the other side of them is worth reaching. But, it will feel like what you just experienced all over again. One famous wall that my college used to weed out upper and lower division students at UCSB was pointers. Recursion also really shocks some people. Some people get really distracted by the high level modeling that gets used to build systems. Some people have a really hard time learning how to incorporate how the computer actually works into their programming model. I don't mean to discourage you! I mean to say that you are not alone. Many people find this stuff hard and work diligently to learn it throughout their careers. It's a fact often lost due to the culture of dominance and bravado that the computer science world has grown.
- tomasien 14y ago
  Thanks so much for the words! Everything along the way I struggle with how exactly to implement it in my mental logic model and actually recall it when needed, but once I can do that that individual element becomes much easier. That's how I originally thought of "when will this get easy" until I realized what I meant by easy: when will I just want to do this more than occasionally, when will I ENJOY it. That's when I realized the answer. It will never be "easy" in the sense that learning these new elements will always be difficult in a way, but there will come and already is starting to come a time when I can do it in a way that fulfills me instantly when I'm doing it.
- johngalt 14y ago
  I could live to be a hundred and never forget what it felt like when I was re-reading a chapter on C++ pointers for the third time and the light went on. One of the few times I've yelled at a book in triumph. The trick to staying motivated is to directly acknowledge it's difficulty. Then proceed learning it anyway.

KirinDave 14y ago

I think your attitude is amazing, and I wish more people had it. Keep at it! But here is a fair warning: this stuff is hard because it's genuinely tricky. Computers are unforgiving in a way the human mind can never be. So be warned: there are other walls like the one you just vaulted over, and the other side of them is worth reaching. But, it will feel like what you just experienced all over again. One famous wall that my college used to weed out upper and lower division students at UCSB was pointers. Recursion also really shocks some people. Some people get really distracted by the high level modeling that gets used to build systems. Some people have a really hard time learning how to incorporate how the computer actually works into their programming model. I don't mean to discourage you! I mean to say that you are not alone. Many people find this stuff hard and work diligently to learn it throughout their careers. It's a fact often lost due to the culture of dominance and bravado that the computer science world has grown.

tomasien 14y ago
Thanks so much for the words! Everything along the way I struggle with how exactly to implement it in my mental logic model and actually recall it when needed, but once I can do that that individual element becomes much easier. That's how I originally thought of "when will this get easy" until I realized what I meant by easy: when will I just want to do this more than occasionally, when will I ENJOY it. That's when I realized the answer. It will never be "easy" in the sense that learning these new elements will always be difficult in a way, but there will come and already is starting to come a time when I can do it in a way that fulfills me instantly when I'm doing it.
johngalt 14y ago
I could live to be a hundred and never forget what it felt like when I was re-reading a chapter on C++ pointers for the third time and the light went on. One of the few times I've yelled at a book in triumph. The trick to staying motivated is to directly acknowledge it's difficulty. Then proceed learning it anyway.