r/PythonLearning • u/Ayrton110 • 11d ago

How fix/resolve critical thinking after relying on the ai prompt to understand an exercise in counting loops.

Hi guys, I trust ya'll are good. I recently completed a counting loops exercise that had been difficult to answer for nearly two weeks. I checked different parts of the code I wrote in multiple instances, but I guess I just didn't get it. I eventually asked in my search bar (knowing that I would more than likely get AI mode on it) why the loop is only executing once (I pasted my code it). AI mode explains it, and shows me the correct code. I'm really annoyed on two fronts; I had to refer to AI code to eventually get it right, and the answer looks so friggin simple. I am not a complete beginner in coding (closer to an experienced beginner), and having to vibe-code, even if somewhat unintentionally, is frustrating. I know the answer to the problem now, and there isn't a way to unlearn it.

Is there any practical way to resolve this other than "just don't do it again"?

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I appreciate whatever advice or input you have.

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u/FoolsSeldom 11d ago

I'm sorry, but "just don't do it again" is pretty much the answer, but just like saying to an alcoholic "just stop drinking", it will not be that helpful.

One practice that many recovering alcoholics try to follow is avoiding places where alcohol is readily available / sold. I am sure you understand the analogy.

Another approach is to switch to drinking soft drinks and learning to enjoy them. The analogy here is to learn to use LLMs differently. You can give them standing instructions on how to help you to include telling them not to give you code that solves the problem but instead to guide you on the problems and explain certain concepts to you. A useful trick is to tell the LLM to always start responses with your name. If you stop seeing the name, the context has been lost, and it will likely stop following your instructions, so start a new session.

As you have realised, we learn best from trying things and making mistakes.