How to Learn
Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed
Brian writes: “I’ve been watching your videos on YouTube for a few month now. I’ve been learning Java for a year now, and I’ve got some tips for learning computer programming. Hopefully, these will apply to other things, as well.”
- Learn to use the help section or guide. The first thing you should master when learning, is the skill of using the help area. It’s so much easier to find something you need on your own than it is to ask others for help.
- Trust books… but have your own mind. When you feel the book isn’t right, you should do research rather than saying “oh, well a book knows more than I do”. Nobody is perfect… even authors could be wrong sometimes.
- Use the tools. When you are learning something new, always use the tools that can help you. Such as… don’t just use Notepad for programming. Use an IDE, because it can make your life easier. It will also make your debugging easier when you make a mistake. And don’t just use any tool, find the one that is right for you. By the way… I use Eclipse for my Java programming.
- Take a rest. When you feel you have mastered 2 or 3 new things, take a rest, and think about what you have learned. It will be more effective this way.
- Don’t research immediately. If you find something in the book that you don’t understand, don’t go do research immediately. Read the rest of the article or book first. Then if you still don’t under stand it… do some further research.
- Always read twice. If you can, always read an article or book twice. I always learn a lot of things the second time I read the book or article.
Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:
26 Comments
Windows Vista Torrent
February 15th, 2008
at 5:26am
Tech Interviews How to Invest MoneyHow to LearnCable Management TV Bloopers RathofMac WebcamMax How To Video MacBook Air Unboxing Putting Windows Vista on a Mac from Apple Why Put Windows on a Mac? Getting in Trouble with the Mac Pro
YesImInThisVid12
February 14th, 2008
at 11:31am
first comment!
SgtSavage166
February 14th, 2008
at 11:33am
When I need to know something I go to Google
imy2k316
February 14th, 2008
at 11:34am
first comment lol :)
soccerthierry1
February 14th, 2008
at 11:34am
FIRST
EvanJello
February 14th, 2008
at 11:35am
cool
dizboy14
February 14th, 2008
at 11:38am
Chris you rock and nice video
tbeezer12
February 14th, 2008
at 11:39am
gooooooooooooooooooooooogle
Nelsonguevara
February 14th, 2008
at 11:41am
haha me too
sirfatalx
February 14th, 2008
at 11:51am
RTFM
emeek77
February 14th, 2008
at 2:19pm
read the f**kin manual. LOL
emeek77
February 14th, 2008
at 2:23pm
a lot. people mess it up all the time.
mtregi
February 14th, 2008
at 3:21pm
China is taking over the engrish language….haha! but seriously, they are
Dejaiin
February 14th, 2008
at 6:36pm
IDE is not exactly going to make it easier on some os.. or projects……
WyldeJ
February 14th, 2008
at 6:44pm
Well done. Your an acronym genius.
WyldeJ
February 14th, 2008
at 6:45pm
Informative. ; )
Barbara Ling
February 15th, 2008
at 10:32am
You forgot my favorite:
RTFM
or, read the fine manual. :)
Enjoy,
Barbara
Ben (bceent)
February 15th, 2008
at 2:19pm
Some very good points. I completely agree with teaching things to yourself, due to the statistics that show: you learn 70% of something when you are teaching it, but only 30% of something when you are taught it. So, if you can teach it to yourself you will learn more and remember it for longer.
On the topic of the “a lot” side comment that you made at the end Chris; it isn’t just many Americans who make that mistake. I live in England and a lot of English people make the same mistake!!!
bgeorge
February 15th, 2008
at 3:03pm
I totally agree with the forth tip. When I was trying to learn PHP, I would read several chapters in one sitting and not learn anything. But when I actually sat down and practiced writing scripts with what I learned, I had to look at the book less and less for the syntax.
Great job Chris and congratulations on “Big Mac”. I intend on switching to Mac OS X after the MacBook Pro line is refreshed.
dinomite161
February 16th, 2008
at 3:09am
better start learning chinese because they are going to take over the world because there army is strong and they are training how to wipe out satilites
ros3ntan
February 16th, 2008
at 6:09am
help, my midterm is due next week…. hahahahahhahahaha
STRING3R
February 16th, 2008
at 6:31am
fuck you
rattler218973
February 16th, 2008
at 7:03am
i never give alot of thought about writing A LOT
Scynite
March 3rd, 2008
at 5:11am
I love the internet. Such a powerful tool to educate oneself on a huge array of subjects. I couldn’t and wouldn’t live without it. Most of my programming and web-design skill have been the product of self-teaching and reading a lot on the internet.
TubeCaan
March 22nd, 2008
at 11:12pm
Nice discussion at the end :P
guest2424
March 23rd, 2008
at 12:41am
“a lot” is like saying “I have an ACRE of land” or “I have a BUNCH of land” or “I have a LOT of land” the problem is, they say “spell a lot” rather than “spell lot” and putting an “a” before it to properly identify “lot”.
I believe most people will have that problem by default, because everyone is teaching everyone the wrong way to learn it. Because of how we are taught, we learn that without the “a” in “a lot” it is not a word, and no words have spaces in them.