Friday, January 20, 2017

I liked Dan Bader’s comparison between karate and the art of programming. In his latest newsletter he writes:

I like to think mastering programming as a skill is quite similar to mastering a physical skill like karate. […]

With both, it takes a long time to build up the right foundation. But once “muscle memory” starts kicking in, your progress can skyrocket. It’s all about making it through that first rough patch of slow learning progress without losing your motivation.

Mastering a programming language means lifelong learning. The topic is fractal—there’s always a way to expand your knowledge in some obscure way. One can hit critical mass in terms of knowledge and be called an expert, but it’s unlikely a single person will “know it all”.

A seasoned programmer acts deliberately and with an economy of movement that a beginner can’t yet understand. Biological differences like age, “IQ”, play less of a role. The more experienced dev still codes circles around the eager newcomer.

I continued working on Lino Avanti.