Failing at re-learning to program
What did taking a Python course teach me about skills inertia?
Last year, I attempted to take a graduate-level programming course. But unfortunately, I quickly learned my decades-old knowledge of computer programing was a hindrance more than a help.
For example, back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, if I wanted to parse a list for a name, I’d have to write the parser myself. There wasn’t a library to do these things in BASIC. I’d spend a couple of hours on the logic and writing the routine. Today, in Python, it’s a line or two in code.
I found it incredibly difficult to unlearn years of scripting language that assumed limited computing resources. With years of experience, I ended up dropping the course.
It’s helped me in my advisory. I better understand the hurdle of relearning an existing skill and changing an organization's culture. How have you approached refreshing your stale technical knowledge?