[brightball]

So, here's the lesson that I learned when I was about 23 years old.

At the time, I had a CIS degree and had been programming for about 5 years, mostly Java, Perl and PHP (early 2000s).

I knew PHP really well. Used it professionally, used it in my hobbies. There was something I was trying to figure out how to do and I couldn't find a clear answer for it online anywhere so I finally ended up buying a book that had references too it. Big 600 page Wrox book I think.

Well, I opened up the book and found the answer I was looking for. Then I noticed something on the next page that I didn't realize you could do and would have made my life soooo much easier if I'd known about it earlier.

After that I sat down and read the book cover to cover despite having been working with PHP for 5 years at that point and I learned so much. Really leveled me up.

Now, anytime I want to learn anything I go straight for a book so that I can get a comprehensive picture of all of the available tools and how they work together, from an expert. Makes everything afterwards a lot easier.

[ItsMonkk]

There's a constant iterative feedback process. Learn -> Do -> Learn -> Do -> etc...

If something is painful and then you read about how to make it less hard, that's immensely gratifying. At that point you learn how beneficial that is, and start reading more. But if you just read and never apply that knowledge, you don't actually understand it. You need to strike the right balance.

[brightball]

That's fair. I think it depends on the person a little too.

For me, I prefer to gain a deeper knowledge before I dive in because I know what direction to look to solve the problems I come across if I've read about them already. I might not remember the specifics, but I know to look for it.

Works well for me though.