[zwentz]

I find that trying to ask my question at StackOverflow is the best way to improve. Because I have to think about how best to word my problem, and really make it clear and concise. And usually when I do that, I end up just solving the problem on my own.

Of course, I see a lot of give me teh codez there, so I can see where the author is coming from. Nevertheless, I find it to be a useful tool in helping me become a better programmer.

[antoarts]

Good catch. This is similar to "rubber-duck debugging" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging).

[cruise02]

I had the same thought. I think the author is only warning against immediately looking on Stack Overflow for existing answers. Formulating a good question of your own for SO requires a significant amount of thinking about the problem, which is what's being advocated.