Perpetual Learning: Break Your Toys

   Last week I started diving into the perpetual learning section of the Apprenticeship patterns book, beginning with the expand your bandwidth section. I talked about how I want to learn more about my field and explore new discoveries in the industry. This time however I read up on the "Break Your Toys" section from the book. This section covers the need to fail in order to improve, and how to set up an environment where you can sort of fail on purpose.

I am no stranger to failing and struggling when it comes to computer programming, as I am sure we all are familiar with it. This section makes a case for using a pet project, or a “toy program” as they put it, to test and break to your heart’s content. This is supposed to allow you an environment in which to practice whatever programming you desire, and most importantly an environment to fail in. Failure in your job usually leads to you losing the respect of your peers at best, or losing your job at worst. This is not an environment where you can make mistakes comfortably, and mistakes are necessary for growth. 

So basically the section is telling us to make a side project where we can mess up all we want, and learn from it. Pretty basic advice, but it can go a long way to making you a better programmer. In fact, it is a piece of advice I have already implemented in other parts of my life. As a hobby, I build and paint plastic miniatures, and use them in tabletop games. Recently I have become much more focused on improving my painting skills. As a result, I have taken up several side projects where I can experiment with different painting techniques. I even keep around spare models to use as test subjects. Not all of these projects pan as I would like them to, but that is part of what makes them appealing to me. It allows me to fool around and try new things, without the risk of failure being an impediment. Back in the book they suggest maintaining a wiki as a way to practice without worry. Personally, I am thinking of fooling around in some game engines as a way to practice.

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