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Jay Valentine
Courses Plus Student 4,389 PointsDo you think this is a little bit advanced for beginners?
If anything it has knocked my confidence, i'm dyslexic with numbers, so javascript is a mind f*** to try and understand, without sounding like an idiot, i would of probably been better off being taught and spoken to like a baby, i find Daves use of language of vocabulary quite complex sometimes when he's trying to explain certain things, and it confuses me even more! although i understand all the syntax, but i struggle to write it out if i was told i had to make a certain thing on my own, i'm not taking anything away from the course though, its fantastic and it quickly immerses you in the language, which is the best way to learn, what im trying to say is, everyone learns differently and at different speeds, and i feel this task was quite an uphill battle as it took me more than 8 hours sitting here trying to understand each bit, obviously other people will find it relatively easy, but im just trying to highlight how it changes from person to person and i can see how it can quickly discourage people to quit rather than persevere?
Any thoughts?
Jay Valentine
Courses Plus Student 4,389 PointsThat's such a relief that i'm not in the minority on that one haha!
geoffrey
28,736 PointsHey Jay, honestly I can't count all the times I've felt totaly stupid. And It's still going to happen... Things can take time to grasp as stated by Dave. If you want to know, I sometimes understand things weeks later... However, I just try to avoid spending too much time if something is too difficult to understand.
Michael Oliver
7,855 PointsDon't sweat it Jay. I'm pretty good with math and not too bad on these programming quizzes. This however, has taken me for a ride...
8 Answers
Saskia Lund
5,673 PointsActually I think it is more about performing abstract theoretic thinking. And this is something that not everyone is good at.
One should not be discouraged if one isn't good at abstract thinking. It just happens to slow down the learning curve and personal success rate a lot when it comes to not only programming, but also when it comes to other tasks or jobs. For example accomplishing the job of an air traffic controller or control tower operator if you wish, your abilities to perform extremely complex abstract thinking must be very potent - otherwise you might crash arriving and departing aircrafts into each other.
There is a way to practice abstract thinking and get better at it.
Please do not feel offended now ;): Google for "testing abstract perceptive thinking"
There are plenty of sites that describe what this means and there are plenty of scientific tests available to test your own ability of logical perceptive thinking.
Please excuse any grammar or vocabulary mistakes I made. English is not my native language. I still hope my text was understandable.
Jay Valentine
Courses Plus Student 4,389 PointsFeedback given, advice given, and a potential solution given, Best Answer!
Jay Valentine
Courses Plus Student 4,389 PointsFeedback given, advice given, and a potential solution given, Best Answer!
miguelcastro2
Courses Plus Student 6,573 PointsYou are bound to hit a brick wall when learning something - especially programming. Sometimes you run into concepts, code, and/or syntax that just doesn't make any sense and it is at this point that you may need to take a break to think it over. Come back and review it again. Seek out resources outside of Treehouse that exist on the web like blogs and videos. If you press on you will eventually "get it".
Programming involves constant learning and you will be challenged along the way. There will be frustration and then elation when you finally figure something out and push past a barrier. Don't give up.
rachelweaver
15,876 PointsNo, what you are describing sounds normal to me. I learned c++ a while back, so I know the fundamentals of programming, but even I had a hard time understanding bits and pieces. It can be frustrating, but 8 hours isn't that bad compared to what I saw while in college(it took me a month to even begin to understand programming a basic quiz, so don't get discouraged). Even my professor didn't know 100% of the material and even admitted at times he makes mistakes and didn't fully understand certain data structures until he taught them. Even the most experienced programmers run into problems.
Some concepts will come very easily to you while other will be a big hurdle. One of the best pieces of advice I received is to hack at it for a while(an hour or 2) and then take a break and focus on something else. I honestly have the same problem of not knowing where to start 9 times out of 10. Sometimes finding what works can be trail and error.
Jay Valentine
Courses Plus Student 4,389 PointsRachel Weaver Good post! very informative! and thank you for the advice
Jay Valentine
Courses Plus Student 4,389 PointsTo be fair, i've returned to this, 20 days on from when i wrote this question, and im understanding it a LOT LOT easier, it must of been down to the frame of mind i was in, who knows
Unsubscribed User
4,513 PointsMajor relief guys!
Victoria Felice
14,760 PointsPersonally, I think that this particular Math.random() section is not about programming, it's more about mathematics. So, don't feel discouraged! This is just about performing math. :)
marvelousperson206
9,199 PointsI am in the same boat, I get most if it clearly and pass the challenges and quizzes but I struggled when more complex challenges like this are given to me. I think it would help if it were in person and the challenge could be repeated more thoroughly or in a different way. One of the cons to internet learning unfortunately :p
stefanides
721 PointsGuys sorry, but this learning curve for this stage was totally wrong... 10 videos was so so basic and after that you are asking me/us to create a "program" with 10 combined variables... sorry but this is to much
moonshine
8,449 Pointsmoonshine
8,449 PointsHe did say "don't worry if you don't understand the math." Programming is difficult and takes a substantial amount time and effort. Honestly, I have spend hours on a single recursive problem.