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by Elgolfin 1990 days ago
My 2 cents without seeming harsh with the author.

Articles with a title `Learn <programming language> in 5 minutes` are misleading. They should be renamed `Discover <programming language> in 5 minutes`. Replace the verb Discover by Introduce or something similar if you like.

There is a lot of difference between learning a new programming language and discovering one.

You will not learn any programming language in 5 minutes.

This introduction to Go is quite nice, though.

3 comments

> There is a lot of difference between learning a new programming language and discovering one.

Yeah, discover just lasts the moment you stumble upon it. Once you sit down to learn the syntax and basics, you're learning the language.

- discover - find unexpectedly or during a search.

- learn - gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in (something) by study, experience, or being taught.

I don't think anyone is reading the title and thinking "Huh, I can learn _all_ of Go in just 5 minutes?!". The time is an indicator that you'll just scratch the surface, not become a master gopher.

Way less clicks for "Discover" than "Learn"

My expectations were low enough because of the "5 minutes" part, and I actually found it to be better than expected.

Remember when we used to yell at 21 day books (Learn C++ in 21 Days) as being mis-leadingly short? It's becoming a meme now.