

Coders Anonymous: The Programmer's Support Group - ajaimk
http://www.ajaimk.com/2009/11/18/coders-anonymous-the-programmers-support-group/

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nzmsv
There's a reason CS courses don't teach the latest language. For one, the
professors have other things to do than try every new language that comes out.
Second, the concepts are the same. Most of the difference is the syntax sugar
and the backend (yes, I know this is flame war material).

Having a social club for people interested in programming is fine. Just watch
out for freeloaders. The people who don't currently have the initiative to try
a programming language will just show up and expect you to use your free time
to teach them everything.

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nanotone
Agreed. One of the most important skills I picked up in college was not the
ability to code in whatever the hot language du jour was, but the ability to
learn a new language quickly, and to pick out its important characteristics:
Garbage collection? Dynamic typing? Closures?

After that, yes, it's nice to be fluent in a fast, productive language like
Python, and to understand a lower-level one like C.

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edw519
I applaud you efforts helping each other; just a few concerns...

 _...but most do not do so and lack the motivation or ability to learn by
themselves._

Anyone who lacks the motivation or ability to learn by themselves should
probably consider another line of work. This character trait is a necessary
but not sufficient condition for being a good programmer.

 _It becomes a group activity._

Having community support is great, but let's not fool ourselves: programming
is rarely a group activity; great work requires lots of time alone, just you
and your terminal.

 _You have someone to push you when you start slacking. Kind of the same as
getting a workout buddy. When you get stuck, there is someone who can help you
out._

Getting stuck is natural and it's always nice to have someone to turn to, but
we must be careful not to develop too many crutches. The best learning almost
always comes from struggling and figuring it out on your own. Let's not
deprive anyone of this "joy".

 _With a large enough group and a couple months, you will be able to pick up
not 1 or 2 but quite a few languages._

Being able to claim limited proficiency in multiple languages is not an
advantage. Better to concentrate on one or two core technologies and become
very, very good at them. It really doesn't matter which.

 _Another problem this will fix for those of the entrepreneurial mindset will
be a larger pool of good developers looking for a job/project to work on._

 _That_ should be your focus. Projects. The best way to learn is by doing.
Classes and discussions are good starting points, but you should be moving on
to actually doing it as quickly as you can. You should be concentrating on the
results of your work, not on the length of your resumes. I'd prefer someone
who could deliver an app with only 20% of the syntax of any language over
someone who learned lots of stuff but struggled to use it.

Please share your experiences with this as you proceed. I for one would be
interested in learning what works best for you guys. Good luck!

~~~
ajaimk
Thanks for the comments. I'll surely focus on the projects aspect of it. Will
keep hacker news posted as to our experiences with this.

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diN0bot
i like the idea of meeting people and having a good time geeking out over
technical things. i like the idea of sharing news and experiences with the
latest technology. i like the idea of having a support group to brainstorm and
problem solve with.

leave the coding for the occasional hack session and you have awesome!!!!!!!!

let me know when it's up and running....or maybe i should just start a
meetup.com.... yeah??

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ajaimk
Looking for some feedback on this concept.

