This isn't an outwardly angry rant, more like a "I need to process wtf happened" rant. also this was posted at 3am local time.
Not too long ago we had quizzes involving programming. The first one was sort of basic, the most complicated part of it was implementing if-else statements in order to calculate discounts based on item types, and if I remember correctly a loop. So I caught up with a friend, asked how it went for him. He mentioned having to use a clanker and I was shocked since I thought he knew how to code, so I asked him if he knew the basics of our current programming language. He said he knew the basics, just that the instructions were complicated.
We learned C in the first semester, by the way, so we should have known the general structure of loops and if-elses. Yes, we ChatGPT'd the hell out of that course, but only because our instructor assumed we had some base level knowledge of programming even when we didn't, so we got swamped with relatively complicated projects and didn't have the opportunity to study because we had to devote time into making a workable project. Also we had 25 units at that time.
I would like to mention that I have been doing workbook-style self-learning since the class started, since that friend of mine said that this particular teacher wouldn't teach us thoroughly in person. I worked through the fundamentals because I didn't have the chance to learn them properly in the 1st Semester. And I was enjoying the whole process of problem-solving, so I did it for most of my free time. The best thing I learned was the value of prolonged metaphorical head banging. Slowly what I was learning became ingrained in my muscle memory.
During our free time my friend follows me around and usually he watches TikTok on his phone, with the occasional game in-between. I already told him and showed off the site where I get my exercises. Anyway, I didn't know there was a 2nd quiz that day, and it was hands-on programming using concepts I had not reached in my workbook and I hadn't studied them yet (my fault), and I knew about it only with an hour or 30 minutes left. I actually didn't get the chance to try coding practice with it as at some point I didn't have access to a table to put my laptop on. So I pulled up my learning module and saw the general structure of how classes and objects worked, so I thought "Oh it's just like methods, but with separate files involved". Meanwhile this guy was watching TikTok and at some point pulled up a "Learn Java in 14 minutes" video from YouTube and sped it up.
I came into the quiz clueless as hell. We had two hours to implement the program, and we used the computers. The first hour I was trying to learn, through trial and error running the IDE, how classes and objects worked and how they interacted with the main program. A literal hour. During that time I was vaguely aware that two people were caught cheating. When I got to make it work I was like, "Oh, it's all coming together". So I read the instructions, did the print statements/structure first, implemented the logic and though my final code had a single bug before the time ran out I was proud of myself as it was a far cry from the first semester when I didn't know how to code at all.
So, I asked my friend wtf happened while I was in that flow state. He said 10 people were caught cheating and there were more who cheated and didn't get caught, including him. The fuck? 10 people is around a third of my class... Oh and he didn't learn Java in 14 minutes.
Absolute "solvet saeculum in favilla" <insert Mozart's face into the absolute cinema meme>
I am AFAB which will inform the context of what I will say next. The next day he invited me out to dinner, which I'm pretty sure was him trying to indirectly get me out on a date. I didn't really accept it and said I prefer to get home as early as I could. Then he gave me a decorative flower, and said it's an appreciation gift if I wouldn't accept the confession. He had confessed to me several months ago, and I rejected it. Due to the reason of not being able to connect with others as I'm often masking because of my neurodivergence plus dysphoria makes me feel like my body ain't mine. Not only that, I was raised by a (probably aromantic or demiromantic) mother who told me to focus on my studies and after that enjoy life for a while.
But another reason was because of this gen z personality! I didn't really care about it in a friend but when he reminded me of the possibility of having a partner I definitely don't want someone who spends the bulk of their time scrolling, and I have done that occasionally with youtube shorts. Yes there's educational content, but passively learning is miles different from actively learning. I shudder to think about the time I had wasted in the black hole of shortform content. Not only that but he spends a lot of time just following me around, even though I'd be busy with the coding exercises. I know he has other friends who would be more interactive. There was also a time I went to a club stall (this was before the first confession) and I expressed a slight interest in joining. He mentioned he might join as well. After a while I thought about this university's academic load and decided I wouldn't join, so he said he wouldn't join, because I won't. Idk why but that feels so... unindependent?
Because of the whole confession thing I kept on thinking back to those quizzes. I can't believe that our generation can't even be bothered to learn basic skills and instead would just waste a cumulative amount of time on entertainment. I feel like I'm sounding like a boomer but I'm definitely noticing it. Yes mental energy is a thing, but even in the darkest moments of my life I knew that if I did nothing everything will fall apart or rot and get even worse and some days I really had to force myself to act, either through sheer force of will or autopilot. I know Gen Z is experiencing a multitude of problems but I don't like the idea of us being helpless at all and being strung along by circumstances and only fulfilling our base desires. It's hedonistic in a bad way. And I don't know about you but I feel like mental stamina has to be cultivated in the same way physical stamina is.
Which reminds me of a teacher I had who was a sort of world-class researcher. She told me that back in the day (she mentioned being a senior citizen), modern conveniences weren't a thing. Yet humans still liked fun and toys. Like Spinning Tops. Making one was a neighborhood project and since they didn't even know where to buy sandpaper they broke glass to smoothen out the carved wood. And they did some thingamajimg to insert the blunt end of the nail into the top (I forgot how). Basically, if there's a will, there's a way. That's the human motto. It also reminds me how kids back in my day (oh no I'm sounding old now) would play with toys instead of watching iPad. There's something special about badly drawing something and imagining that an entire story is happening. Are kids these days still able to imagine without a well-defined image? Shit, AI images feel even more sinister now.
I know you didn't ask for commentary on your friend, but I'd be concerned that he's convinced he's going to "win" you over through just spending tons of time with you. Wearing you down. Probably not how he thinks about it explicitly, but that definitely appears to be his strategy.
Asking you out to dinner after a rejection, and not at least distancing himself from you for a while after it (still just following you around constantly and the other codependent behavior) is a little concerning. Also, your phrasing of "first confession". He's told you, you know. It sounds like he doesn't respect your decision enough to let it lie. It raises some serious red "nice guy" flags.
If he can't get over it and handle you as just a friend, it's not your responsibility to cut ties (it's his feelings after all, not yours), but it might be in your best interest to enforce some distance. He's not going to get over his feelings if he's spending every free moment with you.
It sounds like you have some absolutely shit (but not particularly uncommon) professors. Quizzes and tests on programming concepts you haven't gotten to yet? Fuckers.
I also totally get the struggle of not being given enough time to get the concepts because you have to implement them in an assignment ASAP. It's one of my biggest complaints (of very many) about how programming is taught at universities. While your approach shouldn't be necessary, it absolutely will give you a leg up.
I dropped out of a "New Ivy" university BS in Computer Science, then eventually went back and got an Associates degree in Computer Information Systems (bit more broad with hardware, sysadmin, IT troubleshooting, and project management courses on top of a lighter programming course load). I used to think I'd kill myself if I had to program 8 hours a day. Now I'm the lead scripting and automation monkey on a sysadmin/sysengineering/infra architecture/infra ops team and for the most part I enjoy it, including days with 8hrs of scripting.
My advice to learners is to focus on the concepts and problem solving aspects of it as much as your courses will allow you to. Eventually you'll reach a point with your experience coding, develop your toolkit and skills so that the focus will be "How do I break down this big problem into smaller and smaller chunks, then how do I accomplish those" rather than "how do I do if statements in this language?".
At a job, you can always look up language specific syntax as long as you have the right terms to look for it online. I spend more time thinking over how I'm going to solve the problem than what specifically I'm typing for code.
And as far as your main point goes about short form content?
Lazy students have existed for far earlier than your generation, and will continue to for long after. While there are far more easily available dopamine injection addictive things now, lazy and unmotivated students find a way. Tiktok wasn't a thing until after I was out, but by god I wasted entire semesters modding Smash Bros Brawl and playing shit on Steam, hanging out with friends instead of studying and doing assignments.
I won't deny that the more modern distractions are backed by an unimaginably large industry, with head-spinning amounts of psychological research put in towards keeping people hooked. It's a problem, and it's getting worse the more money they find they can make off it. But there have always been different levels of investment in studies and craft.
Thanks for your response!
Unfortunately for him, I am starting to get annoyed at being followed around. I am an introvert and I get easily irritated about certain stimuli, and another thing I dislike is people thinking of me in relation to someone and not as a person of my own, among other things. Recently someone asked me if I was his gf (as he was following me around) and that internally made me feel the bitterest or sourest of emotions. I also don't like the idea of playing an idealised role in someone's own self-narrative. For the sake of our friendship yes I probably should have to enforce distance. Instead of being worn down I feel like a ticking time bomb. Also I kinda feel bad for his friends cuz he's spending a lot of his time with me :(
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Our current teacher is a bit more laid back and we didn't get any major projects. The thing is, is that she doesn't really give lectures during our time and instead tells us to watch her lecture videos and telling us what to study for the next quiz. Our credit hours for this subject is all Lab and no Lecture so I can sort of understand. Not all of my classmates have computers of their own so I guess another reason is to let the students develop their skills independently, and to pass their assignments using the computers. But yes, I also hate the way programming is taught. I personally would prefer an incremental approach at the beginning like short workbook style exercises. Isolating concepts and progressing into more complex implementations. As it stands programming classes start with our teachers making us stare at a huge program and expecting us to learn everything in bulk by analysing it.
Also... I remember watching a Developer roadmap video and at the bottom of the iceberg Philosophy and Math were mentioned :sob: I also do wish we had a class that outlines what programming is all about. Like what we should expect and its general philosophy. I did read that developers spend most of their time trying to think how to solve a problem than just typing code. I also noticed that some people lose self-esteem because of AI, because we as a society are so focused in the output rather than the internal process. We think that what a programmer is all about is producing code and not being a problem solver.
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Tbh I feel like there's a difference between gaming and short form content. When you're a dedicated gamer you at some point would at least use your brain to solve problems. I mean, hopefully anyway. Some games that focus on grinding and idling are pretty low on the mental effort scale, but passively consuming content is literally on the bottom tier, even worse than watching television, to the point that I've been catching news of studios trying to get into short form movies where the episodes are like super short.