Why does “everyone need to learn programming”?

Hello everyone, I am Xiaozaojun.

Previously, I have repeatedly emphasized to you the importance of programming skills for those of us working in the IT and communications industries, especially for the future career development of college students. Xianzao Classroom has also been working hard to collect and provide learning materials on programming for you.

Today, I found another professional teacher, he is the founder of " Half Stack Engineer Growth Community ", Comrade Li Dagou . The following article is his views and opinions on this issue.

" Programming " is undoubtedly the most popular skill in the 21st century. Many bigwigs have put forward the view that " everyone should learn programming ", which has been recognized by more and more people.

Why is programming so popular? Is programming ability really that important? Next, let's analyze it rationally -

What will learning programming bring us?

Looking at the developments over the past few decades, especially the development of artificial intelligence, we can clearly see the reality - the labor value of most people will be replaced by robots.

What controls the robot? It is controlled by the program. What controls the program? It is controlled by the person who wrote the program.

Therefore, in the future, “people who can program” will definitely be able to obtain more resources than “people who cannot program” .

Many people say that the computer industry is overheated, the artificial intelligence industry is overheated, and programming is overheated. But I don’t think so.

I think that from a long-term perspective, programming and programming-related industries are not overheated, but are in an early stage suitable for entry. In this long-term trend, we should identify ourselves as "long-term value investors" rather than "short-term profit speculators."

“ Everyone wants it ” actually implies a condition – “ everyone can have it ”.

If it is not "everyone can do it", then "everyone must learn programming" is just a slogan, just like "everyone must become a multi-millionaire" or "everyone must live to be 100 years old".

So, has programming become something that “everyone can do” now?

The answer is undoubtedly yes!

If you search for Scratch , you will find that getting started with programming is now as easy as building blocks!

Scratch programming tool interface

But why do many people still shake their heads and stay away from programming when they hear the word "programming"?

The reason is simple - " inertia ".

In the past, programming skills did have a high entry barrier. Therefore, many people "live in the past" and hold on to the view that "programming is difficult".

However, those who "live in the past" will inevitably suffer. If we forget the past and boldly approach it, we will find that getting started with programming is now very, very simple!

We have mainly expressed two arguments above:

• The general trend of the times makes it " necessary " to learn programming

• The development of the industry has led to " everyone can learn programming"

So, will programming become something that "everyone can do"? Will having the will definitely lead to good results?

Not really.

We can take a very similar example - English .

Since the last century, it has been a consensus that people "must" learn English, and it is also a "clear" thing that "everyone can" learn English. So have we achieved that "everyone can" learn English? Unfortunately, we have not done so.

English has been popularized for so many years, but it is still not the case that "everyone can speak it"...

So, why is this?

In fact, this is the same reason why not everyone can speak English.

First, it was not turned into a "must-have"; second, the correct method was not used.

"Urgent need" is the most powerful, original and core motivation for learning a skill.

Again, let’s take English as an example. A student has studied hard for many years in China, but is still struggling in the “sea of ​​English”. After going abroad for a year, he suddenly finds that he has mastered English! Why is this? It’s not because his “IQ” has changed, or he has “opened up”, but because English has become his “must-have”!

Similarly, if we still learn programming in the same way as we learned English in high school, we will be as painful and frustrated as we were when we learned English in the past!

So, how do you avoid “falling into the same pit”?

That is - " Make programming a necessity! "

Make programming a big “ MUST ”

Rather than a little “ should ”

How to become a "must have" ?

From my personal experience , by developing some tools that I use every day and growing with the tools, programming naturally becomes a "must-have" .

In this case, the more I rely on the tool, the greater my "rigid need" becomes. I have to learn, grow, and use the knowledge I have learned to enhance my tool. Then, when the tool becomes powerful, my dependence on it increases again...

This is a loop with no termination condition.

In fact, isn’t “online game addiction” a mechanism like this? If “addiction” is used in the right place, it is not a bad thing, but a “good thing that makes people happy”. As long as we make ourselves “addicted”, we will learn a skill (programming) at an amazing speed and make “continuous and high-speed” progress!

Be addicted to programming just like you are addicted to your phone!

As for the methodology, it is not possible to elaborate in one article due to space limitations. Interested students can watch the front-end development course jointly launched by Xianzao Classroom and Half Stack Engineer Growth Community - " Half Stack Engineer Fun Development " (link at the end of the article).

The first lecture of the course introduces the issue of methodology.

(It’s free!)

Let's summarize today's content:

• Why does "everyone has to learn programming"? The general trend of the times has made it "a must", and the development of the industry has made it "everyone can".

• But even if it is "a must" and "everyone can do it", programming will not become something that "everyone can do" because it is "not a rigid need" and has "wrong learning methodology".

• So, how do we become “good at programming”? First, we need to make “programming” a necessity.

• How to become a must-have? Develop tools that you will use every day and grow with them!

• After doing this, we will be surprised to find that we have become "programming addicts", and then we will get started quickly and make "continuous and rapid" progress!

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