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That moment a cashier at Aldi asked me why I was learning Python at 2am | Coding For Beginners - Discusd

That moment a cashier at Aldi asked me why I was learning Python at 2am

I was standing in line at Aldi around 2am, buying a frozen pizza and some energy drinks. The cashier was this kid, maybe 19, and he saw my laptop bag and asked what I was working on. I told him I was trying to learn Python loops and it was kicking my butt. He just nodded and said 'my dad's a plumber and he taught himself code at 45 on night shifts, took him 8 months but now he builds apps for construction contractors.' It hit me that there's no wrong age or time to start learning this stuff. Has anyone else had a random stranger's story push them to keep going with a coding project?

2 comments

2 Comments

alices163mo ago

Actually I have to push back a little on the youtube tutorial thing. Mia I get what you're saying about bouncing between channels but I think that's actually part of the process not a failure. My buddy learned guitar by watching 14 different beginner videos because nobody explained barre chords in a way that clicked until the 15th one. Same with coding. The cashier's dad probably tried a few different things too before something stuck. The problem is people give up after the second or third tutorial instead of treating it like a scavenger hunt for the right explanation. Loops are tough because they feel abstract until you tie them to something you actually care about. For that dad it was probably building that contractor app that made it click not some perfect course.

mia_singh243mo ago

Did that cashier mention if his dad tried any specific tutorials or courses that clicked for him, or was it more of a trial and error thing until something stuck? I know a lot of beginners just dive into YouTube tutorials and end up bouncing between channels because none of them explain loops in a way that makes sense until the third or fourth video. That's the part that really knocks people down, realizing there's a dozen different ways to learn it and half of them just don't click for your brain.