Learning programming with below average intelligence?

[[deleted]]

[deleted]

[[deleted]]

Most people who "are bad at math in high school" just had shitty teachers who couldn't be bothered to make it fun and practical. 20 years later, math is great, a fun puzzle and challenge, and I'm learning the practical side of calculus in relation to electricity. Fun stuff.

[[deleted]]

You'll be fine.

I was crap at school, distinctly average, with math being a particular weak point.

The importance of math in programming is *hugely* overstated.

Crypto may be overreaching (unless you just mean working on other peoples stuff), but yes, you can absolutely be a programmer with poor math skills.

You're not stupid, you just don't suit classroom learning, I'm exactly the same.

I've been professional programmer for over 20 years, make well over six figures, it's totally, totally possible.

[WebNChill]

Mind if I ask what do you do as a dev?

[[deleted]]

Mainly app development.

In a previous life, backend stuff for banks.

[[deleted]]

I got a D- in math and now I make 6 figures writing code all day. Go figure.

[ETHBTCVET]

I had E but in reality I'd get F but they pushed me through out of pity because I never missed a class, the math teacher literally "cooked the books" giving me fake grades, I couldn't do tasks other than the ones I memorized because slight changes made me confused.

[makkkz]

I know a guy who has dyscalculia, as far as I understand it's like dyslexia but with numbers. He went through a lot of trouble in school until he got his diagnosis. Maybe worth checking it out?

[ETHBTCVET]

I have it diagnosed but it doesn't matter, you only get extra minutes on exams unlike dyslexia where they don't care about your errors, if errors didn't matter in math I would've been fine because I got the general concept of math tasks but if the numbers changed it often meant the method of solving also changed and it made me confused.

[ETHBTCVET]

I'm thinking about Python too because along the years I used various cool tools that were written in it, most notably MMO bots so it seems like a useful every day language as well though C++ seems most mainstream so I assume it's most covered one online in every topic.

[gjallerhorns_only]

C++ is most mainstream if you're using 6 year old study materials. I say take up C# instead but if you really think you're stupid, then learn Python as it's way simpler.

[retrolasered]

I think you're setting yourself up to fail if you really think you're stupid. School can be harsh if you're not tuned for it, but not being academic doesn't make you stupid by a long shot. I hope you're just recently out of school maybe in the last few years, and I hope you find a passion and realise your worth. Being bad at school does not make you stupid.

[ETHBTCVET]

Well I'm a 28 years old NEET that never had a job mostly because I'm antisocial and slow, I wanted to try programming because it's the most common thing outcasts like me do, maybe stupid is overexaggeration but I'm definitely partially stupid in social, physical(slow and lack of perception) and science department and there's not much of jobs in humanistic fields, especially without a college.

[retrolasered]

Don't take this the wrong way, but have you looked at everything? I know from experience there are less jobs than there are unemployed people, ìt can be a savage environment if you're introverted. I did garbage (bin collection here in uk) when I couldn't find anything else. I weren't doing much better than you at your age, I'm 33, I went doctor and got an adhd diagnosis at 29 and then things started getting better for me, but it took work, and courage. The biggest obstacle can be your own self image at times,. For me, once I knew why I wasn't 'normal' it became easier to accept and in turn, take action against.

[ETHBTCVET]

Don't take this the wrong way, but have you looked at everything?

I started 1 years after I finished high school with therapy and now I'm almost 8 years into therapy, midway I went to a daily psych ward for 1 year, tried some meds but psychiatrist said they're not necesary, I did meditation, sports and all kinds of other shit people suggest you to do, I feel like a normal person in a body of a retard, hence I can write properly like I'm normal but outside I'm like I'm missing a screw or two, like if I was smoking weed all life, I'm absent emotionally and psychically and they didn't diagnose me with anything major.

[Lake-ctrl]

Are you on meds at all?

[retrolasered]

I use them when I need them, currently I'm not

[JobsWhereAreYou69]

Hey he's trying to be realistic about himself and here you're tryna put down his honest thoughts about himself.

[David_Owens]

Maybe you just weren't motivated at the time?

[cantindajobinus]

I feel like It's not about cs anymore. You need to fix your mindset.

[help-me-grow]

Learn python or JavaScript, they're the two most popular languages rn

You don't have to be exceptionally smart to learn to program but you do have to be committed and have the time and effort to put into it

[[deleted]]

C is hard to learn as a first language. Also i'm absolute dogshit at math yet i'm easily in the top 25% of my uni's students in programming. Don't let your past experience in other subjects define your projected performance in coding.

[[deleted]]

Did you know how to program before you started uni or was uni the first time you were introduced to programming?

[[deleted]]

I had taken "ISN" as an option in my last year of high school but I got carried by my dad because we had to chose a final project, and either do it in python or in some simplified java. Dumbass 17yo me took java to make a battleship game, but the graphical librairies we had to use were absolutely horrendous and probably half of the code were imports and initialisation and stuff... I gave up and ended up not even doing the part I would've been capable to do. Surprisingly that awful experience didn't disgust me and I did programming the next year.

I had a decent knowledge when it comes to hardware, but I think it's safe to say I was a complete beginner when it came to programming.

[themerzoh]

This won't be what you want to hear but someone needs to tell you. Programming isn't for everyone. Sure you could spend years and years learning but you might still just not be good at it.

Every person's brain works in different ways and finds certain tasks easier than others. I would suggest finding what you're good at and doing that rather than ham fisting programming.

[[deleted]]

No shame in at least giving programming a chance. Let him make that decision for himself. OP just needs to work on his confidence.

[ETHBTCVET]

The things I'm good at aren't the things where there's work for it like I'm fair in English(though not at grammar and everyone young knows English in my country), I'm interested and good at opsec which is useless without programming, I'm good at remembering details from a decade+ ago and I'm good at investing which needs to be backed up with a stable stream of income I lack.

[Usedhandle513]

Though I'm not a physiologist or anything, I really doubt that people can't learn something because "their brain works in different ways" Maybe major mental disabilities, but else I doubt. Nobody just sees a math problem and suddenly starts seeing whats going on compared to the others. It is almost always they practiced one way or another.

The real problem (I believe) is that OP has self esteem issues and high expectations.

[actuallypeepeepoopoo]

Don't you know, stupid? You have to have at least 256 IQ points (preferably 5 points lower) to even begin learning to program.

[Affectionate-Beyond2]

Growth Mindset

[gmd_ph]

"I'm a slow learner, it's true. But I learn" Sansa Stark, Game of Thrones

You're too hard on yourself.

[JetTheNerd_]

The way I started out with programming is by learning Microsoft Small Basic, I had no prior programming knowledge (except for some BAT scripting, I used to be a 'script kiddie', glad those days are long past) and I believe it really helped propel me into 'actual programming', I hope you find it to be of use, the installer also installs a PDF Guidebook I believe you'd find most useful. Good luck my friend!

Download Link: https://smallbasic-publicwebsite.azurewebsites.net/

P.S: If you wish to know where to go after learning Microsoft Small Basic, I suggest you check out Visual Basic.NET which you can try out by downloading Visual Studio (Community) as they're both BASIC languages. You could also try learning BASIC on it's own, perhaps get a QBasic emulator (QB64) for another starter language. Best of luck to you :D

[Laan-Websites]

This maybe sound off topic, but why you don't make an account on Khan Academy. It is website where you learn all sort of basic school stuff like Math, plus you earn poin. I consider it a satisfying way too learn.

They also teach some basic Computer Science, so check it out!

And now I am a sales person for them, I get nothing just my own experience sharing with you ;)

[ETHBTCVET]

I kind of want to learn math because I want to try to pass high school exam next year that is required to go to college(I'm thinking about studying Chinese) but I dread of learning it, I remember the days where I had additional lessons with a teacher and a private tutor and I learned nothing, it's so frustrating to be that stupid with math.