I have always wanted a personal blog. My own corner of the web where I am able to share the little I know. Procrastination however, has always seemed to get the better of me. Enter September 2022; I started a Software Engineering (SE) Program with ALX Africa. Now while this may not seem connected at first, learning at ALX gave me that final push I needed. Here's how.
Feynman What?
As it sometimes happens with learning, it is often difficult to assimilate new concepts at first. So to help us on our journey, we were introduced to the Feynman Technique. An aspect of this technique that proved very effective for me was the recommendation to attempt explaining concepts to a 12-year old. The following is a quote from this awesome Feynman Technique article that struck a chord with me:
"The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks." - Mortimer Adler
For me, the results were surprisingly positive. On one hand, attempting to do the said explanation to a kid forced me to dig deep, searching for simpler words to express meaning. In the process, I often got an Aha! moment; an instance of time where everything became clear all of a sudden.
On the other hand, using the same technique, I tried to explain concepts I thought I understood. Turns out, gaps in my knowledge and understanding kept appearing. Who knew! 😒
Furthermore, I experienced similar results when trying to explain concepts to my SE colleagues at ALX who had not yet grasped the concepts under consideration. Now, this is not meant to sound patronizing, but in those instances, they were like the 12-year old.
On Your Marks, Get Set, Write!
It occurred to me later on, that putting my thoughts into writing , would be a more effective way of getting points accross to others. Especially since well written articles on programming concepts which were done by others, proved to be invaluable resources for my colleagues and I. This has also contributed to tipping me over the writing edge.
What is more, while working on my initial set of notes for my colleagues, I found myself doing lots of research as knowledge gaps inevitably appeared. So, in the end, as I tried to help others, I got better myself. So looks like I will be doing this writing gig for real. 😏
Also, it turns out that blogging would help me achieve success as a developer. More on that in this awesome article.
On this blog I will be writing about computer programming concepts and my developer journey as a whole. And while I do not yet know how helpful my writings would be, I hope that it makes the journey a little easier for someone out there.
Much love. 💕
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