Overheard a senior dev say 'you don't need to memorize syntax' and it changed how I study

I was at a coffee shop near my local library last Saturday and heard him tell a junior that Googling basic stuff is fine as long as you understand the logic, so now I'm trying to focus on problem solving instead of flashcards, has anyone else switched their learning approach mid-course?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade_singh15d ago

Oh jeez, I'd take that with a grain of salt - memorizing syntax actually saves you tons of time in the long run, especially during interviews or when you're debugging without internet access.

murphy.blair15d ago

totally agree and i gotta say @jade_singh i used to be the same way until i realized it was slowing me down. spent like 2 months making flash cards for react hooks and still couldn't remember the syntax under pressure. once i switched to just building stuff and googling when i got stuck, everything clicked way faster. debugging without internet is rough but honestly how often does that even happen? most of my best learning came from looking up stuff on the fly and actually applying it, not from memorizing it.

troyreed15d ago

100% agree, I had the exact same wake-up call about six months ago. I was spending like 3 hours a night just drilling Python syntax into my head, and then I'd sit down to actually write a script and freeze up completely. Then I started doing those LeetCode problems and just googling the stuff I didn't know, like for loops and list methods. That was the real game changer. I actually remember the syntax now because I've used it to solve real problems like thirty times, not because I stared at a flashcard. Interviews are a different beast, sure, but for day-to-day coding, knowing where to look stuff up is way more valuable than having it all in your head.