> how do you approach a problem domain in which you know nothing, and manage to gain enough of a map of the territory so that you listen to someone's one-word suggestions and instantly grasp the implications?
Through trial-and-error, intuition, and a bit of luck. :)
I think the most important first step is to not get scared. You have to feel comfortable with the fact that you don't know anything, and so you have to be a beginner. That is a great thing to be though, as beginners tend to be very open and enthusiastic about learning.
From there, it's just like studying any other art or endeavor. You start with enthusiasm, build up your skills, and eventually you feel confident enough that you can take more advanced instruction.
It's at that point that the one-word instruction can give you tremendous insight. That's been my experience, anyway.
Indeed. I've discovered with experience that one can learn surprisingly complicated things by taking one methodical step at a time and just giving it lots of time and effort. If you want to do it, go for it! Just don't expect results on day 1.
For me it's one of those learn it once and get it over with. They really are powerful and if you spend one weekend on learning, it should be enough to go a long way.
Understanding beats rote learning every time: it's always possible to reconstruct the learning. You can generalize and customize it.
But how much quicker if you also have that at your fingertips!
Perhaps, a bit like writing a very clear and well thought-out solution on SO... and later googling for it.
Agreed. Diving in to examples is the best way to learn. I'm usually wary of these "Learn X in Y minutes" posts, but this one is great - maybe due to Go's succinctness?
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