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Learning to Program is STUPID! (or SMART?!)

playa77

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Probably most of the billionaires you guys list have put in many thousands of hours to become really good at coding before becoming successful.
Are you willing to put up this effort, or are you better off contracting someone who has already put in that time and effort?

Do a 30-day trial, where you learn an easy language like python. That's going to benefit you in understanding the basic ways code works, and will also help you formulate requirements with an contracted programmer.

But mastery of any subject will take time and coding is not an exception. Is that time really well spend? Paying a good programmer to code for you will not be that expensive.
 

loop101

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I'm not sure if it has already been mentioned, but one major benefit of knowing about programming, is knowing what is possible to do (even if you are not doing the coding yourself).
 
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Temerity

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Probably most of the billionaires you guys list have put in many thousands of hours to become really good at coding before becoming successful.
Are you willing to put up this effort, or are you better off contracting someone who has already put in that time and effort?

Do a 30-day trial, where you learn an easy language like python. That's going to benefit you in understanding the basic ways code works, and will also help you formulate requirements with an contracted programmer.

But mastery of any subject will take time and coding is not an exception. Is that time really well spend? Paying a good programmer to code for you will not be that expensive.

I know this from experience. I coded a CMS for a local utility company. Learned PHP, MySQL and other programming languages in order to do so.

When it came to creating my own website with advanced specifications, I knew it was beyond my purview and would take years to learn and implement. The smarter, faster way for me to go was to hire freelance programmers who had more skill than me (and were willing to be paid 1/5th the cost of a "normal" programmer).

The best thing that came out of my programming life was knowing what my limitations were and delegating them to the real pros at a great savings of time and effort for me. And since I have the programming jargon and know what can be done due to my experience, it's much easier to relate what I want done to the real programmers who know what they are doing.
 

loop101

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This thread, and the reasoning behind it, are stupid. Obviously learning to program is not "STUPID", just as learning marketing is not "STUPID". What is stupid, is refusing to learn what you need to learn to succeed, because you think learning it is "STUPID".

I know a guy who developed software, and had to hire a guy to help him sell it. He later sold his company for $10M. The salesman did not get $10M, my friend did. The salesman is probably in a software development forum right now, posting in a thread called "Learning Marketing is STUPID", and his proof is that he has been doing it since 1977 and still is working for other people.

The only thing that is stupid, is not doing what is necessary to be successful.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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healthstatus

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This thread, and the reasoning behind it, are stupid.
Which must be why there are 19 pages of discussion and it is considered a "Gold" thread on this forum. Have you read all of it?


I know a guy who developed software
That is vastly different than a guy that doesn't and thinks he is going to learn to code in a few months and write a killer application/website/app.

doing what is necessary to be successful
That is what we are all here for...
 

JoshC

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Very helpful, i am in the same position luckily without having invested too much time into learning code yet.
 

ColtonJD91

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What do you mean by modern? Still alive?

Richard Branson.. (Virgin)
Warren Buffet.. (Investing)
Charles Koch..
David Koch..
Michael Bloomberg..(Bloomberg)
Phil Knight... (Nike)

A lot of them on the Forbes 500: http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/#page:3_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_filter:All industries_filter:All states_filter:All categories

Or did you mean under 40?

Scott Duncan... (Energy)
Chase Coleman... (Hedge Funds/Tiget Global)
John Arnold... (Hedge Funds/Centaurus Advisors)
Nicholas Woodman... (GoPro)

I forget... what was Steve Job's favorite programming language?

There's a handful of startups that were outsourced. Linkedin comes to mind. With modern CMS's and development agencies, I think development can be completely outsourced / done with little to no experience. Marketing a product is what counts.

Here's a good article on the subject - http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2013/11/17/startup-really-need-hire-house-developers/
 

csalvato

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There's a handful of startups that were outsourced. Linkedin comes to mind. With modern CMS's and development agencies, I think development can be completely outsourced / done with little to no experience. Marketing a product is what counts.

Salesforce was also completely "outsourced"...if you consider that the CEO and visionary never touched the code once.

Gotta love me some Mark Benioff wisdom as well. His book was gold.
 
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Unknown

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Any time I'm curious how a program/website will work, I can create a prototype and test it out. I can come up with an idea, and know exactly how much work will be involved. I can decide in 10 minutes if it is worth the trouble. I could go on, but I don't think I need too. Knowing how to code is just as useful as any other skill in life.
 

Jinxus

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Always thought I'd have OP's mentality, but recently things are changing.

I've been learning Javascript over the past couple of weeks and so far have coded some simple scripts that make the part time data entry job I'm in 20x easier and quicker. Being able to sit down one day and make something with code feels empowering. You don't have to rely on another person to meet your expectations, you meet them. You don't have to withdraw from your savings to build something. You just sit down and make it yourself.

Then again, there are people out there with decades of coding experience that will always be able to code many times better than you. After all, most of us aren't trying to be programmers.
 

ApeRunner

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I think programming is more of a profession than a needed business skill. Anyway, it always helps to know the basics in order to communicate efficiently with programmers.

You don't need to know how to program, but in this technology driven world it IS a nice business skill to have. And also programming trains you how to be logical in your "offline" processes.
 
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jeandearme

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Okay, guys - something I think could make Your head explode ;)

Anyone knows Rollercoaster Tycoon? Yup, it was written by ONE guy: http://www.chrissawyergames.com/

That's of course one-off, but still - he made it and remember that back then games were distributed rather offline.

edit: As I know more and more about people alligned with IT sector I start to realize that if You want just make millions without all that hassle with managing people, learn how to program (and how to market it) and live life of independent being that have no obligations whatsoever.

But, if You want to make billions - go change the world. Since, You will not make it by Yourself - go get a team and be prepared this team to grow enormously.

I, personally, took the first way since now what I look for is peace of mind, but I know that a day will come when I change my path to the second one. It's just a matter of time.
 
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AllenCrawley

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Kano Ships Its First 18,000 Learn-To-Code Computer Kits, Fueled By $1.5M Kickstarter

http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/27/kano-ships/

aiwbfV5.jpg
 

Kuda

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Love ya healthstatus but I disagree,

I'm learning how to code as we speak. Have been for a while now. I love learning this just as much as I enjoy learning about all other aspects of business. Instead of saying that learning something you want to learn is "stupid", perhaps you should say that it wasn't beneficial to YOU. To tell anyone that learning anything is stupid is in fact, stupid, and I know you're smarter than that.

I also enjoy learning how to cook, speak different languages, sew, and a million other things. I'm not stupid I'm enlightened and interested.



All the best,

Cory
indeed so true we cant be all marketers and we cant be all coders hence if you like to learn something do it. after you can hire marketers to market you product just like you can hire coders to write your program
 

AffPlaybook

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IMHO 'learning to code" isn't a black or white, all or nothing thing. For example, I can't code a website myself but I did learn enough to have a basic understanding.

This has helped me in a number of ways. A big one is that I know if a coder I hire is trying to overcharge, or is a hack. This alone has saved me a ton of money and time.

Another huge benefit is the different ideas I can come up with now. Sure you can look at websites then say I want a website to do 'that', but actually understanding some of the code helps you come up with ideas you wouldn't have otherwise.

So I don't think you need to become an expert coder, but I also think it's a mistake to have 0 understanding of it. Like most things in life, there is balance that will reap the biggest reward.
 
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early riser

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Nothing wrong with learning code, but it's like anything else.
Dream big but also recognize your strengths, your weaknesses, and what you can truly build on.

For example I will never be a professional athlete.
Has nothing to do with my will or not putting the hours into it, or how much I want it, it just won't happen.

Same with some people and code or anything else. Sometimes you just have to cut bait. If you can't do it or do it well, hire.
Furthermore, if you can pay someone less that what your time is worth and fry bigger fish, definitely hire.

-Early Riser
 
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MickeyZen

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Thank you for saying this. I was contemplating on coding for sometime now, so that I could strike it big, but the whole process just didn't make sense.
Marketing seems like the way to go!
 

MayaMagpie

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I'm teaching myself bits and pieces here and there, just so I know how to talk to coders. It's very helpful for communicating exactly what you want if you know the basics and know what's possible and roughly how stuff works. I don't think I would ever want to finish an entire project myself though, even if I could. It's not my speciality.
 
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Shdreams

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All I can say is coding is like trying to learn chinese. I've been researching it for days now. I found a couple "code school" websites. I'm a pretty determined Individual but this might be my breaking point. I think I will source it until I can grasp it. Or fork out the bucks for code school lol
 

csalvato

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For people still reading this, this is an interesting addition.

Zuckerburg on coding for Facebook in 2012:

On stage at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook co-founder and CEO, says that he still codes sometimes for fun. But there is a rule at Facebook, he says: “If you are checking in code, you have to maintain your code.”

When asked if he still codes, he answered, jokingly: “Everything I do breaks, but we fix things quickly.” More seriously, Zuckerberg doesn’t want to commit code and then have another developer maintaining it because he is stuck in a meeting.
 

Writer

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All I can say is coding is like trying to learn chinese. I've been researching it for days now. I found a couple "code school" websites. I'm a pretty determined Individual but this might be my breaking point. I think I will source it until I can grasp it. Or fork out the bucks for code school lol

If you want to code, you need to hack, hack, and hack again. Try new stuff, again and again. Break your system, break your code, break someone else's code. Check forums, and talk to nerds. Books (most of them are step-by-step) and online videos can help you up to a certain point.
And if you're serious, install Linux and hack it, learn some bash and try to develop/hack software. You need to have fun, as Linus Torvald's book ("Just for fun") says.
Another resource is "The bazaar and the Cathedral" by Raymond, and especially "The art of UNIX programming", which is a must read for anyone serious about programming.
Also check this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_philosophy

In addition, every programmer should have the K&R on his shelves.
 
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Writer

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Let me add one more thing.
If you want to learn to program to get "into" the game, that is just to understand the basics, then learn... BASIC.
Yes, the good old english-language programming language that was designed to be an easy application layer. It puzzles me that most people overlook this nice and tidy language (ok, it has some dangerous stuff like the GOTO) that can do most of what beginners (and even mid-programmers) need, and it helps building the programmer mindset. It is even more puzzling that BASIC is not taught to kids in schools. You can make nice games with it.
 

MJ DeMarco

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I'VE edited and retitled this thread because:

A) Because within these 20 pages, there are arguments, pros/cons for learning, and not learning.

B) Because I hope the conversation continues here vs having new threads started saying virtually the same things.
That looks to be happening so that's encouraging.
 
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