Some comment on a Stack Overflow thread made me totally rethink how I learn code

I was stuck on a loop problem for like 3 hours yesterday. Was about to give up and copy paste some answer. Then I scrolled down and saw someone write "you dont really learn until you break it first". That hit me. I realized I been trying to write perfect code on the first try. No wonder I get frustrated. So I started deliberately messing up my code to see what errors pop up. Actually helped me understand how the logic flows. Anyone else ever try learning backwards like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

jennys729d ago

That truck analogy makes me feel better about the time I set my smoke detector off just boiling pasta.

richard_dixon9d ago

That "break it first" idea makes a lot of sense actually. I've noticed the same thing working on my old truck - you don't really understand how a starter motor works until you've had to jump the solenoid with a screwdriver and watch sparks fly. The neat clean way never teaches you as much as the messy way does. It's like learning to cook by burning things first or learning to build something by hitting your thumb a few times. Everybody wants to skip the broken part but that's where the real lessons are.

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