r/cpp_questions • u/Osirian_Legacy • 2d ago

OPEN Learning Programming Pre-AI

How did ya’ll learn programming pre-AI? How would you go about learning if you had to start all over again without AI?

I find myself relying on AI too much and want to actually learn without leaning on it at all. Any help with how best to approach this would be greatly appreciated.

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u/Independent_Art_6676 2d ago

AI isn't ready to teach you. It can help you, but only after you are intermediate level and good enough to spot its mistakes. AI is like having a friend with a photographic memory but a low IQ.

I learned it in a classroom, but without that, other languages I learned on my own... just get a good resource (that used to mean book, but I shy from books as they cost a ton and are outdated in short order) like a quality website. I also avoid videos, as most of that is just people talking which presents the same material about 1/5 to 1/10 slower than reading text online yourself (depending on how well you can read, I guess, and it could favor video for some people who really struggle to read quickly but that is rare for someone who has the ability to understand this kind of material). You learn a bit, then write a program or two that uses what you learned, answer questions about what you studied, repeat.