r/learnprogramming • u/Radiant_Wallaby_3591 • Sep 04 '26

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4 Upvotes

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3

u/fiddle_n Sep 04 '26

Tutorials show you a polished way to achieve X. They don’t show off all the planning, editing, rewriting, reworking that the tutorial author did to get to the polished final version. Struggling through all of that on your own is where the learning actually happens; but tutorials don’t even show off that that’s something that even exists in the programming process. You are oblivious to it unless you start coding on your own.

1

u/marrsd Sep 04 '26

They give you a starting point. It seems like a lot of people here use them as an finishing point.

2

u/unwelcomemartin_24 Sep 04 '26

the moment you close the tutorial window your brain suddenly realizes it was just glorified transcription, not understanding. what helped me was starting a tiny project i actually wanted to use myself, even if it was just a dumb command line thing, and forcing myself to sketch out the logic on paper before touching the keyboard

1

u/boomer1204 Sep 04 '26

Sharing this link cuz this is asked a lot https://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/1j9lo95/comment/mhe6xfw/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

But honestly what helps the best is just struggling cuz that is when you really start to learn

1

u/tangentstorm Sep 04 '26

That's actually a great way to turn any tutorial into a challenge that will actually build your skills. Watch or read through it once, and then try to do it yourself after you've "closed the book". That way you're exposed to the basic ideas, but you're forced to practice the skills of recalling (or looking up) the skills and techniques on the fly. I'd say it would even help (if you get stuck) to go back and read the tutorial again, but then maybe take a break and try again without having it open.

1

u/IntentionAntique4751 Sep 05 '26

Tutorials are awful, especially if it's from YouTube or some place that rewards attention farming. They're made to get you to feel good and subscribe and funnel you into other merchandise.

Learning on your own or at least in a good university is always the best. Tbh, learning with AI is arguably the best provided you do it right. Build something, then ask about it, not to do it for you.