sjm

it isn't necessary to already be technically competent to get attention from us, it is necessary to demonstrate the kind of attitude that leads to competence — alert, thoughtful, observant, willing to be an active partner in developing a solution

hackers actually like hard problems and good, thought-provoking questions about them. If we didn't, we wouldn't be here. If you give us an interesting question to chew on we'll be grateful to you; good questions are a stimulus and a gift. Good questions help us develop our understanding, and often reveal problems we might not have noticed or though... See more

the kind of answers you get to your technical questions depends as much on the way you ask the questions as on the difficulty of developing the answe

I think Michael A. Jackson summed this up best:

Rules of Optimization:

Rule 1: Don’t do it.

Rule 2 (for experts only): Don’t do it yet.

sometimes you’re mentally exhausted after finishing one or more major features.

This is the time to take stock and ease off a little. Perhaps do some small tasks, sometimes known as “chores”, which are less mentally taxing, but nevertheless worthwhile. Maybe take time to pay off some technical debt.

Remember the dictum “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”.

You have to find a way in. Sometimes trying the code out as a user gives you a better idea of what it’s all about. Sometimes you need to read the docs or tests to get an idea of the externals. Eventually, you can start looking at the source code and building up a mental model of how it all fits together to achieve its purpose.

Feeling overwhelmed is often due to trying to rush the process of gaining understanding. Nobody comes to a new codebase and instantly understands it.