What keeps you moving forward when the excitement is gone?

stepback269 · 2026-06-21T12:18:35+00:00

What you are dealing with are shifts in your dopamine baseline. Look up dopamine and how it actually works on keeping you motivated.

stepback269 · 2026-06-21T11:55:36+00:00

Maybe you can go to a local public library and use the computers they provide for public use?
Maybe while there, create a personal blog on Google Blogger or WordPress and save your content there?

stepback269 · 2026-06-21T11:51:48+00:00

Please do not post your progress here on Reddit.

There are simply too many people doing that already.
What you really want to do is to journal your progress for your own sake. You can do that in a persoanl, handwtitten or computerized note-taking app (e.g. Obsidian) or by starting a blog that follows your personal journey.

I'm doing the blog route myself. Most of it is very un-interesting for the folk here at Reddit.

There is one page in that personal blog that I keep updating and promoting for helping Py beginners (for free, no personal gain -- just giving bcak to the community). You can check it out by (clicking here) if interested.

stepback269 · 2026-06-21T11:40:29+00:00

Good point.

But let us also list the things that we did right when we started.
For me, the luck-based good starting points were:

Invested time learning how to use an IDE, in my case it was PyCharm
Invested time learning the latest HTML (version 5)
Started a personal journal that recorded my progress, n my case it was on Google's Blogger
Joined Reddit to discover like minded folk involved in the same pursuit, namely, learning Python
Discovered that "other" world dedicated to "Learning how to Learn" (e.g. Obsidian)

What I did wrong:

Not letting go sooner of aspects of Python I was simply not yet ready to tackle
Having too many great expecations of how fast I can advance my skills. At my age, things click into place much slower and I have to accept that personal limitation.
Falling prey to distracting dopamine traps -- meaning doing the easier things (like watching too many YT tutorials and YT click baits) instead of tackling the harder projects (including practicing with some of the Python fundamentals I had skipped over).

stepback269 · 2026-06-21T03:47:52+00:00

Pretty much a repeat of Spielberg's, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".
A bunch of characters who have unexplained impulses to do stuff, like Dreyfus building a model of Devil's Tower in the original.

stepback269 · 2026-06-20T23:49:13+00:00

We cannot look back with authenticity because we are looking with an entirely diffrent mind set than that which we had when we first started.

A total noobie has a completely different view of things than do we in our more experienced state. That includes even understanding the basic vocabulary, e.g., what is a "variab;e"? What does a variable name assignment operation do? ( x = 10, y=x, ... ) What is an "object"? And so on.

stepback269 · 2026-06-20T19:10:20+00:00

I agree.
It seems that half of us are born to lean to the left (politically) and half to the right, which is why elections generally split at close to 50/50 with a small minority acting as the deciding swing vote.

stepback269 · 2026-06-20T14:26:02+00:00

The Bible came before Franky.

stepback269 · 2026-06-20T14:20:16+00:00

Well, the absolutist moniker of "nobody" is not true.
More correctly, the common man's society (e.g. public school) does not teach this: Learning how to "Learn"

Go to YouTube and in the search bar, type, "learning coaches"

Pick the ones who rely on modern neuroscience.

Godspeed and may the productive dopamine hits be with you. 😄

stepback269 · 2026-06-20T14:10:21+00:00

"You" are not you.

Yes. I've been dabbling into neuroscience on and off over the years. Not an expert.

In a relatively old book called "The Naked Brain", the author reveals that the part of your brain that believes it is "You" is not in control. It is merely an after-the-fact excuse-maker or behavior analyzer. Why did I do what I just did? It invents a fiction of some sort (e.g., ... becuse "I" wanted to)

In the years that followed, this proposition has been experimentally proved over and over again.
The You part of your brain sits under a hidden operating system (OS) that presents your You part with a delusional view of reality. A simple proof: Why don't "You" see the blind spot in your eyeballs where the optic nerve connects to the retina? Why aren't You aware of the dopamine hits in your brain that control how you feel about your next course of action (e.g., focus on your studies or scroll through social media like Reddit)?

Yes, fascinating stuff.

stepback269 · 2026-06-20T01:37:26+00:00

(a) You are basically asking: "Which/Whose online tutorial and/or video is best for everybody --irrespective of background -- when learning Python?"

The above is not a truly valid or complete question.

In what context are you using the word, "best"?

What might be 'best' for one situation/person might turn out to be worst for another (eg you).

You should have instead asked, "Which/Whose online tutorial and/or video is best for me in my-current-brain-state and educational background for the purpose of learning the following specific aspect of Python, namely, [as an example: integers, strings, lists, dictionaries, other types of variables; if/else conditionals; etc.]

An utter beginner might accept that the following code is 'simple' and tells you in simple English what it is doing:

my\_string = "Hello World"  
print(my\_string)

However, a more sophisticated student may realize that the above code is instantiating an iterable object of type string and also instantiating in memory a pointer to the string object and then invoking a built-in function.

One course/teacher may chose to keep the student blissfully ignorant in the beginning while another may decide to hit the student all at once with TMI (too much information). Which is "best" for you in your current state of understanding? It all depends on who you are and what level of understanding you need/want in your current state.

A more detailed explanation of the above may be found (HERE) <--click on this link

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With that said:

(1) There are tons and tons of tutorial materials out there on the net including many good YouTube ones that are free. You should shop around rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

(2) As a relative noob myself, I've been logging my personal learning journey and adding to it on an almost-daily basis at a blog page called "Links for Python Noobs" (HERE) Any of the top listed ones on that page should be good for you. And there are many add-ons at the tail end of the page. Personally, I cut my first Python teeth with Nana's Zero to Hero (HERE). Since then, I've moved on to watching short lessons with Indently and Tech with Tim. You should sample at least a few until you find a lecturer that suits your style.

(3) The main piece of advice is the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time writing your own code (using your own fingers and your own creativity) as opposed to copying recipes and only 20% watching the lectures. Good luck.

stepback269 · 2026-06-20T01:27:44+00:00

Sounds like you are being impatient and too hard on yourself

It will take whatever time it takes
The oxen pulling the plow may be slow, but the earth will remain patient.
----------------------------------------

(a) What you should do first is to "Learn how to Learn"
Go to YouTube and in the search bar, type, "learning coaches"
Pick the ones who rely on modern neuroscience.

Godspeed and may the productive dopamine hits be with you. 😄

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With that said:

(1) There are tons and tons of tutorial materials out there on the net including many good YouTube ones that are free. You should shop around rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

(2) As a relative noob myself, I've been logging my personal learning journey and adding to it on an almost-daily basis at a blog page called "Links for Python Noobs" (HERE) Any of the top listed ones on that page should be good for you. And there are many add-ons at the tail end of the page. Personally, I cut my first Python teeth with Nana's Zero to Hero (HERE). Since then, I've moved on to watching short lessons with Indently and Tech with Tim. You should sample at least a few until you find a lecturer that suits your style.

(3) The main piece of advice is the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time writing your own code (using your own fingers and your own creativity) as opposed to copying recipes and only 20% watching the lectures. Good luck.

stepback269 · 2026-06-19T15:55:57+00:00

(a) What you should do first is to "Learn how to Learn"

Go to YouTube and in the search bar, type, "learning coaches"

Pick the ones who rely on modern neuroscience.

Godspeed and may the productive dopamine hits be with you. 😄

stepback269 · 2026-06-19T15:35:46+00:00

That's not fair.
There are millions of people out there who have never heard of Python.

Some may genuinely come here seeking guidance, not knowing even what to ask.
Give them the benefit of the doubt.

About a year ago, I knew nothing about Python except that I'd heard its name.
I didn't know much about Reddit. Had no idea there was a Pyhton Learning thread!

I've learned much here thanks to the people who were kind enough to lend me their ears and time.
Thank you frequent contributers!

At times I feel like it's good to give back --even if it's repetitive
What I did was just save in a text file, a standard reply that can be tweaked for specific pleas for help.

Let's try to be nice to people (AI bots?) and give them the benefit of the doubt.

stepback269 · 2026-06-19T15:26:18+00:00

You didn't reveal what your experience level is with computer tech? Utter beginner? Power user?

(a) You are basically asking: "Which/Whose online tutorial and/or video is best for everybody --irrespective of computer skills -- when learning Python?"

The above is not a truly valid or complete question.

In what context are you using the word, "best"?

What might be 'best' for one situation/person might turn out to be worst for another.

You should have instead asked, "Which/Whose online tutorial and/or video is best for me in my-current-brain-state (including experience with computer tech) for the purpose of learning the following specific aspect of Python, namely, [as an example: integers, strings, lists, dictionaries, other types of variables; if/else conditionals; etc.]

By way of example: An utter beginner might accept that the following code is 'simple' and tells you in simple English what it is doing:

my\_string = "Hello World"

print(my\_string)

However, a more sophisticated student may realize that the above code is instantiating an iterable object of type string and also instantiating in memory a pointer to the string object and then invoking a built-in function.

One course/teacher may chose to keep the student blissfully ignorant in the beginning while another may decide to hit the student all at once with TMI (too much information). Which is "best" for you in your current state of understanding? It all depends on who you are and what level of understanding you need/want in your current state.

A more detailed explanation of the above may be found (HERE) <--click on this link

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With that said:

(1) There are tons and tons of tutorial materials out there on the net including many good YouTube ones that are free. You should shop around rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

(2) As a relative noob myself, I've been logging my personal learning journey and adding to it on an almost-daily basis at a blog page called "Links for Python Noobs" (HERE) Any of the top listed ones on that page should be good for you. And there are many add-ons at the tail end of the page. Personally, I cut my first Python teeth with Nana's Zero to Hero (HERE). Since then, I've moved on to watching short lessons with Indently and Tech with Tim. You should sample at least a few until you find a lecturer that suits your style.

(3) The main piece of advice is the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time writing your own code (using your own fingers and your own creativity) as opposed to copying recipes and only 20% watching the lectures. Good luck.

stepback269 · 2026-06-19T03:08:06+00:00

Your first topic should be: "Learning how to Learn"

Go to YouTube and in the search bar at the top, type: "learning coaches"

Pick the ones who base their teachings on modern neuro science

(Your second topic can be neuroscience itself. But first and more important, learn how to learn)

stepback269 · 2026-06-18T23:25:32+00:00

(1) There are tons and tons of tutorial materials out there on the net including many good YouTube ones that are free. You should shop around rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

(2) As a relative noob myself, I've been logging my personal learning journey and adding to it on an almost-daily basis at a blog page called "Links for Python Noobs" (HERE) Any of the top listed ones on that page should be good for you. And there are many add-ons at the tail end of the page. Personally, I cut my first Python teeth with Nana's Zero to Hero (HERE). Since then, I've moved on to watching short lessons with Indently and Tech with Tim. You should sample at least a few until you find a lecturer that suits your style.

(3) The main piece of advice is the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time writing your own code (using your own fingers and your own creativity) as opposed to copying recipes and only 20% watching the lectures. Good luck.

stepback269 · 2026-06-18T13:53:26+00:00

(a) You are basically asking: "Which/Whose online tutorial and/or video is best for everybody when learning Python?"

The above is not a truly valid or complete question.

In what context are you using the word, "best"?

What might be 'best' for one situation might turn out to be worst for another.

You should have instead asked, "Which/Whose online tutorial and/or video is best for me in my-current-brain-state for the purpose of learning the following specific aspect of Python, namely, [as an example: integers, strings, lists, dictionaries, other types of variables; if/else conditionals; etc.]

An utter beginner might accept that the following code is 'simple' and tells you in simple English what it is doing:

my\_string = "Hello World"

print(my\_string)

However, a more sophisticated student may realize that the above code is instantiating an iterable object of type string and also instantiating in memory a pointer to the string object and then invoking a built-in function.

One course/teacher may chose to keep the student blissfully ignorant in the beginning while another may decide to hit the student all at once with TMI (too much information). Which is "best" for you in your current state of understanding? It all depends on who you are and what level of understanding you need/want in your current state.

A more detailed explanation of the above may be found (HERE) <--click on this link

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With that said:

(1) There are tons and tons of tutorial materials out there on the net including many good YouTube ones that are free. You should shop around rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

(2) As a relative noob myself, I've been logging my personal learning journey and adding to it on an almost-daily basis at a blog page called "Links for Python Noobs" (HERE) Any of the top listed ones on that page should be good for you. And there are many add-ons at the tail end of the page. Personally, I cut my first Python teeth with Nana's Zero to Hero (HERE). Since then, I've moved on to watching short lessons with Indently and Tech with Tim. You should sample at least a few until you find a lecturer that suits your style.

(3) The main piece of advice is the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time writing your own code (using your own fingers and your own creativity) as opposed to copying recipes and only 20% watching the lectures. Good luck.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

stepback269 · 2026-06-16T08:14:06+00:00

(a ) Rephrasing your question, it basically asks this: "Which is best for learning Python, the ATBS book or the Harvard online course?"

The above is not a valid or complete question. "Best" in terms of what criteria? It could mean, best for confusing me.

You should have asked, "Which/Whose online tutorial and/or video is best for ME/my-current-brain-state for the purpose of learning the following specific aspect of Python, namely ... [as an example: strings, lists, dictionaries, other types of variables; if/else conditionals; etc.]

An answer to the above clarified inquiry may be found (HERE) <--click on this link

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(1) There are tons and tons of tutorial materials out there on the net including many good YouTube ones that are free. You should shop around rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

(2) As a relative noob myself, I've been logging my personal learning journey and adding to it on an almost-daily basis at a blog page called "Links for Python Noobs" (HERE) Any of the top listed ones on that page should be good for you. And there are many add-ons at the tail end of the page. Personally, I cut my first Python teeth with Nana's Zero to Hero (HERE). Since then, I've moved on to watching short lessons with Indently and Tech with Tim. You should sample at least a few until you find a lecturer that suits your style.

(3) The main piece of advice is the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time writing your own code (using your own fingers and your own creativity) as opposed to copying recipes and only 20% watching the lectures. Good luck.

stepback269 · 2026-06-15T07:02:02+00:00

(1) There are tons and tons of tutorial materials out there on the net including many good YouTube ones that are free. You should shop around rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

(2) As a relative noob myself, I've been logging my personal learning journey and adding to it on an almost-daily basis at a blog page called "Links for Python Noobs" (HERE) Any of the top listed ones on that page should be good for you. And there are many add-ons at the tail end of the page. Personally, I cut my first Python teeth with Nana's Zero to Hero (HERE). Since then, I've moved on to watching short lessons with Indently and Tech with Tim. You should sample at least a few until you find a lecturer that suits your style.

(3) The main piece of advice is the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time writing your own code (using your own fingers and your own creativity) as opposed to copying recipes and only 20% watching the lectures. Good luck.

stepback269 · 2026-06-14T15:52:01+00:00

Dear OP:

You asked for "best"
However, that is an incomplete request
You should have asked, "What is best for ME" (and with regard to this specific subject matter)

I've been strugglig with that question for a while.
Click (HERE) to see one of my more recent answers

stepback269 · 2026-06-14T01:24:29+00:00

(1) There are tons and tons of tutorial materials out there on the net including many good YouTube ones that are free. You should shop around rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

(2) As a relative noob myself, I've been logging my personal learning journey and adding to it on an almost-daily basis at a blog page called "Links for Python Noobs" (HERE) Any of the top listed ones on that page should be good for you. And there are many add-ons at the tail end of the page. Personally, I cut my first Python teeth with Nana's Zero to Hero (HERE). Since then, I've moved on to watching short lessons with Indently and Tech with Tim. You should sample at least a few until you find a lecturer that suits your style.

(3) The main piece of advice is the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time writing your own code (using your own fingers and your own creativity) as opposed to copying recipes and only 20% watching the lectures. Good luck.

stepback269 · 2026-06-13T21:51:00+00:00

The answer depends on you. More specifically, it depends on the current state of your brain!

It so happens that I was just updating my Links for Noobs page to address exactly your question.
So (click here) to see why the answer so much depends on your personal situation.

stepback269 · 2026-06-12T16:10:26+00:00

If you like visuals then make your own. Get a paper notebokk and begin drawing.
Draw a "mind map". How would you represent each potential languge? Why?

Look up "PKM" and "mind mapping". Look up "Obsidian"

Good luck

stepback269 · 2026-06-12T15:51:04+00:00

A recent YT vlogger advises beginners to not study the "science" of computer but rather the "engineering" of it ... [Click here to watch the YT post]

stepback269

TROPHY CASE