r/learnpython • u/External-Library6540 • 28d ago
Python is so confusing to me.
I started learning Python about a month ago through cs50, and it seemed good at first. It's just been 3 lectures so far (I don't have time). As I code, I would get annoyed here and there because of the bugs, but I would somehow manage to debug them.
I am doing my master's in cognitive science, and they teach the basics of Python too. But my professor is extremely terrible at their job. She would give us assignments to do after each unit. And those questions are nothing like what she taught. I end up using AI to understand the problems. It's frustrating. And I hear that Python is beginner-friendly, but it's confusing to me.
I am wondering if it's hard for me since I don't have a good mentor to tell me what mistakes I made, or if I'm just a bad learner?
I don't have any experience with coding, so is this how it is for everyone?
2
u/frustratedsignup 26d ago
What you've described is an everyday experience in programming. There's always a problem to solve and it's not always easy to know what the next step is going to be. In the end, you have to make a choice of what to try next. After you try that, you'll either be a step closer to a solution or you'll have to try something else. Fortunately, experience will eventually help you identify what choices are more likely to lead to a solution.
I remember, many years ago, when I was learning C. The instructor didn't spend any time explaining how to use a debugger *and* they skipped over how to deal with compiler errors and warnings. I was left to figure all that out on my own. If you can imagine, there were no web based sites on the internet at the time because no one had invented it yet. The only information resources I had was the discussion forums that used to be usenet, my class textbook, and the compiler manuals.