Hey,
Many of us, from a pretty young age, learn two competing ideas:
First, that those older than us have more life experience, and so we should look to them to learn.
And second, that there are “child prodigies” and “baby geniuses” who are born with godlike talent in a certain area.
(Think 5-year-old piano maestros, or mathlete whiz kids, or anyone who’s ever sold a business before being able to get their driver’s license.)
These contrasting cultural ideas can cause some cognitive dissonance for those of us that don’t quite fit the mold, like this newsletter reader:
My Python script crashed at server at my company! Thankfully, I was on a standalone machine, so no one else was affected.
Still, I couldn’t figure out how to solve it on my own. Eventually, one of the IT guys had to help me fix it.
I felt pretty inadequate after that, especially since he’s like 5 years younger than me :(
I felt like I should’ve known better, even though I’m definitely more of a Pythonista than a sysadmin. Any tips on how I can keep my confidence up? It took a pretty hard fall after that!
It’s definitely no fun to crash a server at work! But, it’s also not the end of the world, especially if you’re new to the tech space.
Sometimes, when we try to learn a new skill as an adult, we’re constantly plagued with those ideas we heard throughout childhood.
“Can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” they used to say.
It can be embarrassing if you’re faced with a situation that marks you as an obvious beginner.
This is especially true if you’re older and feel like you “should know” how to do certain things.
But here’s a basic truth you might not have heard as often:
Everyone experiences growing pains.
That math whiz kid? He didn’t even know what numbers were when he was first born.
That 5-year-old piano prodigy could barely use her own hands to feed herself not too long ago.
And you?
Well, there used to be a time when you couldn’t write a single line of Python.
(I know—shocking, isn’t it?!)
There’s one thing that all three of you have in common, and that’s practice.
After years of dedicated practice and concentrated improvement, you’ve gotten to where you are now.
Of course, you wouldn’t be able to fix a server, or build a neural network, or code in Python, if you’ve never had to do so before.
The fact that someone “younger than you” can do more than you has nothing to do with their genius and your lack of it.
It simply means that they’ve had a bit more practice.
The best way to continue to grow and build your own skills is to use Python every day.
Over time, you’ll strengthen your skills and feel more confident in what you can do.
Then, you won’t hesitate to ask for help, because you’ll be able to recognize and appreciate the strengths in others as well.
Happy Pythoning!
— Dan Bader
Many of us, from a pretty young age, learn two competing ideas:
First, that those older than us have more life experience, and so we should look to them to learn.
And second, that there are “child prodigies” and “baby geniuses” who are born with godlike talent in a certain area.
(Think 5-year-old piano maestros, or mathlete whiz kids, or anyone who’s ever sold a business before being able to get their driver’s license.)
These contrasting cultural ideas can cause some cognitive dissonance for those of us that don’t quite fit the mold, like this newsletter reader:
My Python script crashed at server at my company! Thankfully, I was on a standalone machine, so no one else was affected.
Still, I couldn’t figure out how to solve it on my own. Eventually, one of the IT guys had to help me fix it.
I felt pretty inadequate after that, especially since he’s like 5 years younger than me :(
I felt like I should’ve known better, even though I’m definitely more of a Pythonista than a sysadmin. Any tips on how I can keep my confidence up? It took a pretty hard fall after that!
It’s definitely no fun to crash a server at work! But, it’s also not the end of the world, especially if you’re new to the tech space.
Sometimes, when we try to learn a new skill as an adult, we’re constantly plagued with those ideas we heard throughout childhood.
“Can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” they used to say.
It can be embarrassing if you’re faced with a situation that marks you as an obvious beginner.
This is especially true if you’re older and feel like you “should know” how to do certain things.
But here’s a basic truth you might not have heard as often:
Everyone experiences growing pains.
That math whiz kid? He didn’t even know what numbers were when he was first born.
That 5-year-old piano prodigy could barely use her own hands to feed herself not too long ago.
And you?
Well, there used to be a time when you couldn’t write a single line of Python.
(I know—shocking, isn’t it?!)
There’s one thing that all three of you have in common, and that’s practice.
After years of dedicated practice and concentrated improvement, you’ve gotten to where you are now.
Of course, you wouldn’t be able to fix a server, or build a neural network, or code in Python, if you’ve never had to do so before.
The fact that someone “younger than you” can do more than you has nothing to do with their genius and your lack of it.
It simply means that they’ve had a bit more practice.
The best way to continue to grow and build your own skills is to use Python every day.
Over time, you’ll strengthen your skills and feel more confident in what you can do.
Then, you won’t hesitate to ask for help, because you’ll be able to recognize and appreciate the strengths in others as well.
Happy Pythoning!
— Dan Bader
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