Someone asked on a group chat recently “How do you guys become a great programmer?” I riffed the following in response in one of those rare moments of metaphorical clarity:
The same way you get good at a video game. Get in and play. Look things up on Google when you are stuck. Talk about it with others who are also learning or have already mastered. Read related blogs and try other games (languages) to get a better understanding of the common basics. Also, people do these things with games because they enjoy playing more than just winning. Programming works best that way, too, when you think of projects as levels.
© Scott S. Nelson