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Discussion on: Demystifying programming

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allanjeremy profile image
Allan N Jeremy

Most videos aimed at beginners are actually aimed at "people less skilled" than the programmer who made the video.

Very true. This is the exact problem I face when trying to recommend programming videos to friends wanting to get into the field.

Indeed it is. Also the reason why I decided to take the initiative to try and introduce people without actually assuming anything.

I do agree that Brad does some pretty good videos. Thanks for sharing your sentiments.

Is there anything you wish you knew when you were a beginner?

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gastongarcia profile image
Gastón García

Yeah I do have some suggestions:

  1. If it's hard, tell people

For example, Brad in his videos sometimes says "This next part is VERY difficult." By saying that, my own expectations of "getting it" are decreased, and therefore my frustration is more manageable if I don't get it.

  1. If you have to install something, show it

Many videos and tutorials don't actually show you the process of installing stuff. They assume you'll know how to install Node, or an NPM package, etc. It just makes a beginner feel like a dumb person.

  1. Make easy projects

Beginners need easy projects. For example, even though I admire Scott Tolinski's videos and I have purchased many. Some are hard to follow. He moves quickly, and I'm sometimes left with a feeling that I'm the one with the problem.

I guess the important thing to remember is that beginners really are beginners.

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allanjeremy profile image
Allan N Jeremy

Golden advice! Thanks for sharing Gastón.

If it's hard, tell people

I would definitely have overlooked this. Love the insight

Questions

What would you classify as "easy projects"? What may be easy to some of us may be complicated to a beginner.

Perhaps user testing would do the trick?