> In retrospect, I think the main problem was motivation,
I think this is key, as it's fundamental to learning anything.
Some folks "learn to learn", and that's all well and good.
Most folks, however, learn to do. They have some task they want done, so they learn what they need to in order to do that task. We can exempt folks taking courses solely to meet a degree requirement, but that's also a goal oriented learning experience. "Need to pass to graduate. Need high grade for GPA, but that doesn't mean I actually care to learn Psychology 101."
Aimless learning is rarely rewarding. While I was fascinated at a general level with computers, once I learned the basics, pretty much everything else was self-taught with some goal in mind.
With me, I was always writing crummy little games. Games present all sorts of interesting implementation problems. And there's no better way to learn than to write something really badly! My friend and I in college were trying to do our own Roguelike, and went through two platforms, and four languages, rewriting and standing on the shoulders of, well, not giants, but the ruined wasteland of our previous attempts each time. Learned a lot.
Also, there's nothing wrong with someone learning something to then find out they don't like it. Computers are awful, horrible creations and demand a certain mindset to wrangle, and they are not for everyone to be sure.
> My friend and I in college were trying to do our own Roguelike, and went through two platforms, and four languages, rewriting and standing on the shoulders of, well, not giants, but the ruined wasteland of our previous attempts each time. Learned a lot.
The first time you code yourself into a corner is an interesting experience. It can be frustrating but it's almost always lead me to big realizations about larger concepts around/about how to design a program.
I think this is key, as it's fundamental to learning anything.
Some folks "learn to learn", and that's all well and good.
Most folks, however, learn to do. They have some task they want done, so they learn what they need to in order to do that task. We can exempt folks taking courses solely to meet a degree requirement, but that's also a goal oriented learning experience. "Need to pass to graduate. Need high grade for GPA, but that doesn't mean I actually care to learn Psychology 101."
Aimless learning is rarely rewarding. While I was fascinated at a general level with computers, once I learned the basics, pretty much everything else was self-taught with some goal in mind.
With me, I was always writing crummy little games. Games present all sorts of interesting implementation problems. And there's no better way to learn than to write something really badly! My friend and I in college were trying to do our own Roguelike, and went through two platforms, and four languages, rewriting and standing on the shoulders of, well, not giants, but the ruined wasteland of our previous attempts each time. Learned a lot.
Also, there's nothing wrong with someone learning something to then find out they don't like it. Computers are awful, horrible creations and demand a certain mindset to wrangle, and they are not for everyone to be sure.