Hey y'all! Sloan, DEV Moderator and mascot. I'm back with another question submitted by a DEV community member. 🦥
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Let's see what's up this week...
Today's question is:
I've been learning Python for a few months now and feel like I've learned just enough to understand how little I know. It's like I've reached the top of a mountain only to realize that there's more and more, taller mountains ahead of me. Is this a common feeling? Will I ever get to a point where I'm comfortable with this stuff or is this just what programming is like? 😅
Share your thoughts and let's help a fellow DEV member out! Remember to keep kind and stay classy. 💚
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Top comments (7)
Personally, this is the gift/curse of programming. It's like, I don't know, philosophy? If someday you feel that you understood everything, something is wrong 😛
It's certainly a common feeling, and for most people, that's just what it's like. You'll never know everything, and that's fine. Personally, I would focus on "learning how to learn"; not that you aren't doing that already, but having that skill will let you feel a little bit more comfortable in an environment where you're unable to know everything. That's just my take though.
You will if you persevere 😅 that’s the whole magic of it all.
You can either quote Socrates or Ygrid
Then you have to realize it's a great thing.
I have 20 years of experience and I'm still learning things almost every week, if not every day. There is always something new to learn. It's what is amazing with programming.
I'm in the same boat! I will say though, my bootcamp instructor (who is an alum of the same program) always gives me whiplash when I come to her with some complex code and she responds with simple answers.
Like the time I complained, "I'm not sure I understand lambda because I'm not using it." Or "My project only has barcharts." And she says, "well then don't use lambda" or "maybe all you need are barcharts." I think that's the appeal for overthinkers like me. If I'm stuck, I usually just have to back peddle and simplify.
Oh boy! Welcome to the club. "The more I know, the more I realized I know nothing." I wish I could credit that quote, but it reflects the feeling. (You know nothing, John Snow :))
Learning is like trying to find your way thru a dark room. You will stumble upon things, until you find the light switch. Then you go to another room to repeat the process.
The point is not to be good at knowing things. The point is to be good at understanding the fundamentals and finding out the rest.
My office is full of books that I've had for more than 20 years, and I still use many of them from time to time (though sometimes I have to update them). I constantly DDG for reference materials, and I keep all sorts of cheat sheets.
Also, don't be afraid to fact check yourself, and when you're wrong make sure that those you gave bad info learn you were wrong from you yourself. Practicing intellectual honesty and transparency not only makes you a valued colleague and friend, but it helps you reinforce your own learning and understanding. If you make a habit of being transparent about your mistakes, you also reduce the stakes of making those mistakes, and set an example for others that making mistakes isn't a bad thing but rather just part of the process.
Anyway, that's all the "old man" advice I have for you on that one.