2/ To some degree, I think marketing convinced me – who didn't know anything about programming – that I could learn about programming. That was a very good thing.
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3/ Except, I didn't learn C in 24 hours. I learned *some* C in 24 hours. And, I could write *some* useful programs. But, when trying to write complicated things, I struggled. That part was discouraging because I thought I "learned C."
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4/ Happily, I kept trying because it was cool to me. And, knowing the broad strokes of C was useful because I was using C. But, again, that's different from what I thought I would know after "learn[ing] C in 24 hours."
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5/ Unfortunately, I also know plenty of people who had the opportunity to learn coding but quit because they thought they were bad at it. They thought that other people knew it after brief exposure and concluded they weren't "naturally" good at it.
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6/ The reality: anyone can learn to program. It's really not hard. Not everyone can build wondrous Cathedrals but you can participate in the bazaar or at least solve genuine problems that matter to you. It's a useful tool.
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7/ Also the reality: if you want to really grok programming to solve complicated problems, it doesn't take 24 hours. It demands a lot of time. It's in practice of programming where you actually learn to program.
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8/ The whole "in 24 hours" premise obscures both aspects of the reality of programming. And, it's partly why programmers have such a shit work-life balance. Faster, faster, faster, now, now, now, more, more, more is baked into the culture. We're all locked in a Red Queen race.
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9/ Right now, I think the same thing is happening with Data Science (tm). I incessantly get ads for learning
#DeepLearning or#MachineLearning or#Statistics or#DataScience a month or in a week or a few months or some other arbitrary schedule.1 reply 0 retweets 1 likeShow this thread -
10/ It's good marketing. It draws people in and takes their money. But, it's also going to dissuade them later on when they think, "I'm not good at this," expecting the rapid expertise they were promised.
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11/ Same rules apply. There are some fantastic tools right now that allow you to gain *insight* into your data, without demanding expertise. You can learn to use those tools. And, if you like it, you can follow the path of rigorous practice.
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12/ But, you're not going to "know" data science. Don't expect that. It will be disappointing and you may end up quitting prematurely.
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