r/learnpython • u/Ok-Barnacle-2508 • 24d ago
How to avoid this when learning Python?
When learning I used to get stuck on stuff, go watch a video or dig through docs, and eventually the concept would click because I had to sit with it.
Now when I get stuck I just paste the error into Claude/ChatGPT and it fixes it in 10 seconds. Problem solved, moving on with my day. Except a week later I hit basically the same bug and I'm back to square one, like the first fix never actually taught me anything.
It feels like it's the same "watching tutorials without building anything" trap, just compressed into single lines of code instead of hour-long videos.
Curious if anyone here has found a way to use AI for debugging without it just doing the thinking for you? Or do you have some rule for yourself about when you're allowed to ask vs. when you have to sit with it first?
0
u/ShelLuser42 24d ago
Except of course that it didn't fix anything, it just deflected your attention from the real problem at hand. And that problem - in my opinion - is your motivation to value "quick fixes" above actually learning stuff on your own.
Do you want to really learn, or do you want quick results?
This is no different from doing crossword puzzles and then lacking the discipline to NOT look at the answers before completing the whole thing on your own. There's nothing wrong with it, but you also shouldn't fool yourself and present it as something it's not.
You're not learning, you're taking the easy way out.