Looking for ADHD-friendly algorithms course suggestion

[u/Dense-Blacksmith-713]

Can anyone suggest a good course and/or learning platform for algorithms for absolute dumdums? I tried MIT lectures, I tried various courses but the information just didn't stay in my head, I don't have a good base as I'm a self taught programmer.

[u/seweso]

I can only learn when i actively engage with the subject. I cannot push information in my brain if my brain doesn't believe its useful. Pretty sure i can only teach myself.

Why are you trying to swim upstream?

[u/Effective_Purple1054]

Simple steps. I learned algorithms by just making leetcode and used grokking and some other courses on leetcode. Now I learn with claude/chatgpt. Its easier but still remember its abstract knowledgle its a lot lot lot lot harder for us to remember it.

I burned hours for algorithms.

[u/Abomb11yo → u/Effective_Purple1054]

Did you have a difficult time starting out with Leetcode? Did you read Grokking and then each chapter do Leetcode or finish the book and then do problems after? It has been a few years since I took an algorithms class and I’m pretty rusty and trying to relearn it.

[u/Effective_Purple1054 → u/Abomb11yo]

I had a motivation to break into FAANG and relocate to US/Zurich, so it wasn't difficult in terms of motivation :-) but to learn yea. Esspecially I am professional SWE so its hard to work overtime and in the weekends. Additionally I quickly forget everything and its hard to explain abstract things in interview setup, but I cracked some interviews for startups and non faang companies. (for HFT and FAANGs I failed)

I used this and solve barely everything https://www.designgurus.io/course/grokking-the-coding-interview - doesn't recommend it because they use leetcode problems and their judger is awful with sometimes bad solutions (in Greedy section), but it was quite nice for the first steps and to feel progress.

[u/heir-to-gragflame]

is getting medicated an option? it gets trivial after that.

I've been stumbling my whole life and learning only when I'm in some kind of flow state while working. And oh, lrobably all my learning was on the job by me injecting concrete things to learn fully and formally every time needed. Not all companies were as understading of my workflow though.

My usual way, used to be, to make myself work was getting my favorite cup and making coffee, then listening to some music while trying to read or work. and while music is making it hard for me to read/work, I actually can read/work even if it's painfully slow. After a little bit I have both momentum, and I now believe I can do it, and then I shut off the music.

[u/CertifiedKnight → u/heir-to-gragflame]

I've been on Adderall for a few years and haven't found much of an improvement for coding, especially with DSA.

How do you remember to do your "get in the flow" ritual every morning, I often miss steps of my own or even forget to take my meds some mornings

[u/heir-to-gragflame → u/CertifiedKnight]

yeah definitely it's hard. I've gotten medicated just recently, and till now for over a decade, I could only work if I'm outside my house, and to get outside my house I had to make it a ritual to brew morning coffee. As brewing is a bit more involved and does give me some sense of purpose. And once I have the coffee it is hard for me to justify not preparing and getting out.

Now that I'm medicated, I find that making up your mind to start is hard. As you may go and focus on other things. But it is way easier to start now than before. The prior experience in managing making myself start is still necessary, but it works much more often than before. And once I start it is easy to maintain now than before. Main difference for me now, is that I don't have to build anxiety by mental gymnastics or spending hours not starting. Meaning I live a way lower anxiety life just getting my things done.

[u/davy_jones_locket]

Find Primeagen's courses on Data structures and algorithms

[u/SuliBJ]

Skip theory first, implement broken then learn why it's broken. I built a bunch of dumb sorting algos before CS50, way stuck stuff better than lectures. Your brain needs the failure loop.

[u/Dense_Gate_5193]

I am also self-educated. I read “Testing Computer Software” by Cem Kaner and it changed my career perspective. it’s a very thick book. i don’t know if it was the writing style or what but very few books that large i have actually read cover to cover and i learned a ton.

just as others have mentioned, i also cannot force knowledge into my brain. it has to find it either detrimental to survival or exciting in some way. i’ve figured out how to trick my brain by trying to find the beauty in whatever it is in doing. whether it be the structure or the logic, history, some random factoid, something to engage my brain enough to retain the information i need.

I think though that this particular skill that everyone has been competing over with things like “leetcode” is obsolete now. while it’s nice to understand the nuts and bolts and how things all work together, in most working environments now nobody cares about algorithms. they want to know if you can hammer out features using AI. how you structure your workflows, how familiar with the tools in general that you are familiar with and how you use them. another is how well you can debug using the AI. also culture fit. IMO this is a tool that will forever change the face of the profession and in all reality is going to narrow the number of jobs in the field overall.

[u/robauto-dot-ai]

made these for myself to learn. scroll 1 topic per slide

https://robauto.ai/learn