A guy at the library gave me the best coding advice I ever got

I was stuck on a Python loop problem at the Seattle Public Library last month, looking at my screen for over an hour. An older guy at the next table leaned over and said, 'Write it out on paper first, step by step, like you're explaining it to a dog.' I felt silly, but I tried it. I wrote down each step with a pencil, and in about 15 minutes, I saw my mistake. He said he'd been a programmer for 30 years and still does that when code gets messy. Has anyone else found that simple tricks like that help more than just staring at the screen?

2 comments

2 Comments

troy_knight925d ago

That paper trick works every single time for me too.

jesse_craig225d ago

Saw a whole article about why that works, actually.