

Do, as often as you can – it's that simple - martinrue
http://martinrue.com/2011/08/31/do.html

======
DamagedProperty
I am reminded of the 'ultimate success formula.'

1\. Figure out what you want

2\. Take Action

3\. Are you closer or farther away from what you want?

4\. Re-adjust if necessary and GOTO 2 until you have what you want

edit: formatting and spelling

------
wccrawford
Totally agree. In fact, I've been wanting to get into game programming for a
while. (Okay, my whole life.) But I never have.

The recent Ludum Dare competition has inspired me, though. Especially Notch's
incredible entry and live broadcast of his programming.

So the first thing I set out to do was to practice. And by practice, I mean
write games. My plan:

Write games. Lots of them. Every week until the next Ludum Dare.

It's the best way to improve.

~~~
simondlr
The more I program and do things, the more I realise how little people
actually know. They just do, and hope it turns out okay. And that is awesome.
I want more people to realise that. Just program and push stuff out. You will
learn so much.

------
erikb
This idea sounds really great until you start to "do" and have to suffer from
all the failure, the time and energy you spend on doing that instead of other
things you are used to, like with friends and family, at work or school. Just
doing one thing for a long time is a f*cking lot harder then it sounds.

Btw. kudos to that mother who played CS and lost for so many times until she
got decent enough to fight back. She definitely is way more resilient then I
am.

------
viscanti
It's an interesting article, but I think it's an oversimplification. In CS
(the game), there's some strategy, but most can be picked up on the fly. There
isn't a need to abstract away details, there isn't loads of theory that can
help you make better choices. You're either more or less proficient.

I think the analogy breaks down for CS (programming). There are a number of
concepts you won't likely grok without first reading them. A much better
strategy is to read then do. Both are necessary, and you need a balance. All
doing or all reading won't get you as far as a balanced approach. Programming
is significantly more complex than playing a video game.

~~~
16BitTons
For me, it's a cycle. I have trouble reading about something when I don't know
WHY I am reading about it. If I 'do' first, then hit a wall, then read, then I
really care about the reading because I've got skin in the game. Then I'm
trying to solve a problem, which makes me happy.

------
pacaro
I agree with the OP, but I feel that there is something that is missing,
especially re programming.

In addition to "do" there is also "practice".

Look at competitive sports, more time is spent practicing than doing, often
breaking things down and practicing with an exaggerated level of formality.

I believe that this applies to coding too, intentional practice can be a
coding dojo, or hammering out a couple more project euler problems, or a
weekend project, but I believe that the best coders "practice" as much as
"do".

------
gjenkin
Yes, do often. But also, not-do.

As Lao-tzu wrote in the Tao Te Ching: "Practice not-doing, and everything will
fall into place."

[http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/taote...](http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/taote-v3.html)

------
tathagatadg
Just do it ...

------
drstrangevibes
What I am taking away from this is that he got his ass whooped on CS by his
mum - everything else is irrelevant.

------
terrapinbear
"There is no try, only do" - Master Yoda

~~~
djm
I think the actual quote was "do or do not do; there is no try".

~~~
ams6110
I think it was "Do, or do not; there is no try"

~~~
djm
My apologies. I just checked and you were right.

