Hey everyone, I'm feeling really lost as a beginner in programming and could use some honest feedback. I'm working on the first problem set of a coding course where I need to create a pyramid with '#' symbols based on user input. There's an easier version that just prints a simple pyramid, which I figured out with the help of an AI-generated code. I understood each line and felt confident. But then I got to the second part, which involves printing two pyramids, one of which is inverted with spaces before the symbols.
I thought I had a solid grasp of the concepts, especially when it came to creating the inverted pyramid, but when it came time to actually write the code, I was completely stuck. I thought it would be straightforward, but I just couldn't come up with the solution on my own. In my head, it made sense to print spaces instead of '#' to create the inverted pyramid, but when it was time to code it, I hit a wall.
I ended up looking at the solution, and it felt like I cheated myself out of learning. This is such a basic exercise and I couldn't solve it without help, which makes me feel like I'll never be a good programmer. What's even worse is that I'm genuinely passionate about programming, but these early struggles are making me doubt my abilities. I'd really appreciate any advice or feedback on my situation!
1 Answer
You shouldn't beat yourself up over this! The key part of learning to code is struggling through challenges. Think of it as a workout for your brain. Using AI for initial help can make things easy, but it may prevent you from truly grasping how to approach problems yourself. Just keep working through it, and over time, you’ll get better at finding solutions by yourself!
But isn’t it okay to get some help sometimes? I mean, if you can see how to solve a problem, doesn’t that help for future similar problems?