Overheard a software engineer say 'code is just typing' and it kinda shook me

I was at a coffee shop last Tuesday and this guy next to me was on a call talking to someone about a bug. He goes 'look, code is just typing, the hard part is figuring out what to type.' I've been messing around with Python for about 3 weeks now and I get stuck every time I open VS Code. Like I know the words but I don't know the order. Does that feeling ever go away or do you just get better at guessing?

3 comments

3 Comments

brooke_jones19d ago

Oh man, that's like telling a chef "cooking is just heating stuff up." Technically true but completely misses the point. My buddy tried to teach me guitar once and said the same thing about playing songs - "it's just putting your fingers on the right frets." I still can't play anything but Smoke on the Water.

pat_murray5319d ago

Three weeks into guitar lessons I learned that even Smoke on the Water takes more than just "putting fingers in the right spots." The trick is you have to mute the other strings while you play or it sounds like a cat falling down stairs. My teacher made me practice that one riff for two solid hours before he let me move on. What did your buddy say about chord transitions, that's where I really got stuck.

felixm2919d ago

See, now that's a great analogy because cooking and guitar playing both look simple from the outside but there's years of practice hiding underneath. I tried to learn piano once and told myself the same thing, just press the right keys at the right time. Three lessons in and my teacher politely suggested I might enjoy listening to music more than making it. Still haven't lived that one down with my family. At least you can nail Smoke on the Water every time, that's more than most folks can say.