[imperfect_blue]

Overscoping a beginner project is completely harmless. The worst thing that can happen is that you get stuck along the way and realize that a feature is much more difficult or out right impossible. You then cut that feature or give up on the project if you've sunk enough time into it.

Fortunately, actual delivery of a beginner project is pointless. The only point is to learn by doing and you accomplish that regardless of whether your project fails. And failing projects is a lesson in itself on scope, estimation, and research; you won't get this experience if someone else is scoping for you like in a school project .

[sanitycheck]

I disagree - a beginner who gets stuck for too long is very likely to give up trying to learn.

Yes, the learning comes from failing and eventually understanding. But that doesn't _feel_ like progress, what feels like progress is completing stuff and moving on. And if it doesn't feel like one is progressing, the incentive to continue is reduced.

[layer8]

Overscoping doesn’t imply you’ll get stuck. It just implies you won’t finish it anytime soon, and probably will start something else at some point. When I started programming, I learned a ton from projects I never finished as originally intended.

The most important thing is choosing something to build that you are excited about. If that means overscoping, it’s still better than selecting a smaller project that however you find boring.

[hardwaregeek]

It depends on whether the beginner has the mindset of "oh well I'm stuck, guess I'll do a different project/cut scope/ask for help" or has the mindset of "oh well I'm stuck, guess I'm not cut out to do projects"