When copy-pasting snippets, we’re just reading (if we even bother doing that). In software engineering, we can leverage both blocked and interleaving learning practices when we type the code in different contexts, instead of just copying and pasting it. Note: There is evidence that the famous Learning Pyramid might be a knock-off of the Cone of Experience, with added numbers that seem to have been made up (I have created a post about this). ![]() Intuitively we could assume that reading or lectures (abstract visual symbols) could have less retention rate than practice (Direct, Purposeful Experiences). The graph shows two extremes between direct experience (bottom) into pure abstraction (top). The Cone of Experience, from Dale, Edgar. It’s proven that, when you learn through interleaving different variations of the same skill, you’ll learn more efficiently. This isn’t the best way to learn, though. It’s basically where you learn by “performing a single skill over and over, with repetition being the key.” One of those techniques is blocked practice. What we can do is leverage certain aspects of how the human brain is used to learning things - consciously or unconsciously - with some proven techniques. The amount of information a human needs to retain to efficiently understand even a small snippet of code is so huge that it might be forgotten right away. Understand what every line does and the purpose of those libraries/frameworks in the context of that piece of code.įor someone who starts working with a new language, this is going to be extremely hard.Learn the basics of those libraries/frameworks.Understand all the features of the libraries/frameworks that are being used there.Understand all features of the language that are being used there.Here’s the most efficient way to learn in this context: Anyone can copy a snippet of code, understand it, learn from it, use it, and still have a lower risk of unintended side-effects.Ĭargo Cult programming, on the other hand, represents a fundamental misunderstanding of proven steps for learning from other people's code. The problem, in this case, is not that the developer is copying something. When a developer reads a piece of code that they don't understand and still changes it in the hope of fixing some problem, they’re also practicing Cargo Cult programming. This increases the risk of unintended side-effects. When a developer copies a piece of code that they don't understand and uses it in the hope of fixing some problem, they’re practicing Cargo Cult programming. The term cargo cult programmer may apply when a computer programmer that is inexperienced with the problem at hand copies some code from one place to another with little or no understanding of how it works or whether it is required in its new position. Now you’re practicing Cargo Cult programming - a style of software development where you ignore how a piece of code works and its relationship with the code around it. Want to break some code? Change it real quick before you even understand what it does. Fixed plugin to use the Shortcode API, thereby decreasing code size.Typing code can help you develop a learning mindset.Added settings link on plugins page and Ozh admin menu icon. ![]()
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