This year I am going to learn something entirely different: knitting. With yarn and needles. Like a little old lady.
For the past 2 decades I have made a goal of learning a new programming language each year. I've learned languages like Elixir, Gleam, D, Ruby, C#, Dart, PHP, Java, Groovy, Scala, Kotlin, Swift, Objective-C, and Perl.
I never used most of them. Learning new languages is not a waste of time even if they go unused. Seeing how other people think and design code is extremely valuable. I truly enjoyed diving into functional programming with Elixir and Gleam. I see ideas from that paradigm appearing my TypeScript all the time now. However, for the near term I have simply hit a point where there is too much diminishing return in learning a new language.
This year I am going to learn to knit because my brain is a mess. The feeds and the algorithms and the AI autocomplete and the constant news cycle are all running rampant. I can hardly focus. Productivity is hard, getting into flow state is hard. Finishing this post without watching something on YouTube or checking the news is hard. That's enough.
I am going to spend time disconnecting and doing something boring with my hands so that I can start to reclaim my mind. Thankfully my daughters are all kitting and crocheting experts so I don't have to go crawling right back to YouTube to learn it. I'll get to spend more time with them and they'll get to practice teaching their hard won skills to me.
My hope is that by spending this year finding ways to reclaim my ability to focus I will become a better developer and a better person.
Here is my work so far. Looks kind of like my code: full of holes and knots. I'll post updates here as I make progress!
Top comments (14)
Great choice! I also believe we hit a point of diminishing returns by learning new programming languages. Taking care of your mental health is way better than learning a new programming language. Good luck!
Conspicuously missing Rust, a LISP, Haskell (Idris edition lmao), and Rust. Oh, and also Haskell. An APL like BQN or Uiua is also in order.
Lean 👀
All I'm saying is the returns are diminishing from the languages in the list having too much in common, rather than you having covered the full set of useful productive languages.
Great point! I will pencil in one of those for the future.
Good for you! Here's how I handled it - Do Not Learn Another Programming Language 😁
Wow this aligns close with a prayer:
‘O God, I seek refuge from knowledge which does not benefit, from the heart that is not submissive to you, from the soul that does not feel contentment and the prayer that is not answered’
Just when I was thinking to try a new language with AoC 😅 🤪
You didn't learn css, right? 😄
❤️
Damn. I would be writing the exact same thing. All that is applicable for me. I should also take some time off.
Coincidentally, when I learned to tricot many years ago, I used a yellow yarn too. 😁
developers are not needed anymore
I’m not sure where you got that idea, but I work with AI every day and can assure you that developers are still very much needed. AI is a powerful tool, no doubt, but it’s just that—a tool. I haven’t come across any system that can consistently deliver the quality and creativity that an experienced developer brings to the table. Instead of replacing us, AI actually helps us do our jobs better and tackle more complex challenges.