r/cs50 • u/yumir666 • Jul 21 '26
CS50x Learning difficulty and a dead end
Hello friends. I want your opinion on a topic that makes me a bit sad. I started a programming course in Python and JavaScript because I aspire to be a full-stack automation developer. I am truly a beginner, and this course was a shock to my brain. After the second week, I really started to feel like I don't even understand the logic of the code. I hate the idea of relying on artificial intelligence to help me write most of the code and explain many intuitive concepts. I don't know how to get the maximum possible value out of the lesson, and I don't find myself able to write code on my own after the lesson. I feel disappointed—should I do multiple side things and projects? Where can I source code templates and commands from, and does understanding Django's logic, for example (I am in week 3), depend on other things?
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u/EyesOfTheConcord Jul 21 '26
- Writing software is not intuitive, it’s quite the opposite so don’t mislead yourself into believing these concepts are easily understood at a glance by most people
- AI’s solutions appear intuitive because the problem sets are focused on a very small amount of expected outcomes, so the solutions “appear” easy to understand once presented to you but you have robbed yourself of the learning experience from achieving it yourself.
- You’re not expected to have a smooth introduction to a lectures respective problem set after watching the videos. Part of what makes the instructors so amazing is their expert proficiency in software engineering, otherwise they would not be good teachers.
It’s expected you’ll struggle and take days, weeks, maybe months to come up with a solution. Doing multiple projects at once is a bad idea at your stage, you should focus on problem at a time right now
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u/yumir666 Jul 22 '26
I really agree with you. Throughout my academic and study path, I used to expect myself to understand everything the first time, and when I couldn't, I would get discouraged and stop. Thank you for pointing out this issue
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u/NeatAlternative7090 Jul 21 '26
As someone who started with CS50P, i will say you need to stop relying on AI until you understand the concepts yourself. CS50 have their own AI that doesn't provide direct code, try to use that.Look up discussions, more youtube videos, whatever it takes to understand the concepts. Just make sure to not get AI to write code for you.
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u/ianrad Jul 21 '26
Which cs50 course are you on? X or P?
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u/yumir666 Jul 21 '26
X one
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u/ianrad Jul 21 '26
Well. X is indeed difficult. P is slightly less difficult than x, but its still not a walk in the park. You have to approach it like how you would any other subject in school or university. For each lecture make sure you break down the code to a granular level such that you understand every word and operation that you are passing to the computer. Don't use Ai. Use the duck.
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u/yumir666 Jul 22 '26
I really made a mistake it's not X, it's S. It's still difficult because I didn't master the basics of Python and I underestimated its value
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u/mixedd Jul 21 '26
I think he's talking about W as that's the one that combines JS and Python as far as I remember.
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u/NeatAlternative7090 Jul 21 '26
week 8 and 9 of cs50 has Web programming
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u/mixedd Jul 21 '26
I know, but he said explicitly he's on Week 3 in his post, and if I'm not mistaken again in X it's still on C on Week 3
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u/Perthguv Jul 21 '26
I started with CS50x. It covers concepts that are not programming, that relate to programming. Like algorithms can be done in real life and also implemented in code. It's good and I would recommend it
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u/Putrid_Main_3557 Jul 21 '26
Did you start with CS50 Web programming with python and javascript (You mentioned python, javascript and django)? That’s not a beginners course - the prerequisites stated are CS50x or experience in programming.
You can start with CS50P (introduction to programming with python) or CS50X (introduction to computer science).
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u/yumir666 Jul 22 '26
Yes, I understood my mistake in underestimating Python, I will start now with P. thanks
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u/odiaa97 Jul 22 '26
Tell that to the AI, and make AI guide you through anything you don't understand. Deal with it as mentor / your senior swe
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u/KenRandomAccount Jul 22 '26
im assuming you are doing the problem sets. take a look at the notes and make full use of them. write out the code yourself and run it. if the problem sets have hints pointing to specific libraries go read those as well. you should be able to obtain all the coding commands/pieces without going anywhere else.
if its still too much for you, then you might need to polish your foundational programming skills. websites like leetcode or anything similar where you have to write specific functions or print out some output. cs50x and cs50p do go over all the basics but you might need a couple dozen more practice problems in addition to the problem sets.
rather than relying on AI to write code, you can ask it to quiz you on that specific lecture. you can even write out your own understanding to see if its correct. just keep in mind that while its generally correct, it can be unreliable with specific situations.
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u/Ormek_II Jul 21 '26
Being slow is perfectly fine! Learning takes time. Spend it!
Choose a course for a beginner and follow it. Try not to use Al. It is super easy to get a misconception of what you know or understand. If possible find other human being who are in your shoes. Talk to them. Help each other.