"I am not questioning the many benefits of broadening or learning activities, just the premise that they lead to any sort of mastery." - Rich Hickey (from the same gist).
Norvig is speaking about becoming a better developer by becoming exposed to tools that solve problems in different ways, so that you can internalize those different problem-solving techniques and apply them when appropriate. But exposure alone has only a limited benefit - at some point being able to write a quicksort in a new language is going to produce diminishing returns. At some point understanding the advanced techniques offered to you by a programming paradigm is going to require studying that one paradigm to a greater level of detail.
Hickey is speaking about becoming a better developer through 'mastery' in the sense of thoroughly understanding a system, having the ability to acquire new information, identify and solve problems that comes only through extensive experience.
These are two different ways to become better as a developer. Hickey's point is that the 'skill ceiling' for the former is very low - once you've been exposed to a number of different paradigms, you can either continue learning even more languages for little marginal benefit, or you can begin to master one or more of the paradigms you've seen. And that mastery builds a whole different set of skills that will make you a better developer no matter what toolset you end up using.
> I can't help not getting excited by React or not spending a month learning OCaml or building side-projects tangential to my 9-5 line of work...it is a sure fire way to level up as a developer.
Do you feel the side-projects you've worked on in the past have made it easier for you to work on your job, or your current side-projects? Have they given you more insight? Do you come across solutions more easily because...
* you've seen and solved a similar problem before?
* the month you spent working on OCaml gave you insight into a functional way to reframe the issue?
* your exploration of react.js gave you a better appreciation of client-side engineering issues?
* something else?
If you can honestly say 'yes', you are almost certainly leveling up as a developer. Otherwise, you might want to examine whether your side-interests amount to more than dilettantism and whether you might be better served spending some time focused on a single topic.
"I am not questioning the many benefits of broadening or learning activities, just the premise that they lead to any sort of mastery." - Rich Hickey (from the same gist).
Norvig is speaking about becoming a better developer by becoming exposed to tools that solve problems in different ways, so that you can internalize those different problem-solving techniques and apply them when appropriate. But exposure alone has only a limited benefit - at some point being able to write a quicksort in a new language is going to produce diminishing returns. At some point understanding the advanced techniques offered to you by a programming paradigm is going to require studying that one paradigm to a greater level of detail.
Hickey is speaking about becoming a better developer through 'mastery' in the sense of thoroughly understanding a system, having the ability to acquire new information, identify and solve problems that comes only through extensive experience.
These are two different ways to become better as a developer. Hickey's point is that the 'skill ceiling' for the former is very low - once you've been exposed to a number of different paradigms, you can either continue learning even more languages for little marginal benefit, or you can begin to master one or more of the paradigms you've seen. And that mastery builds a whole different set of skills that will make you a better developer no matter what toolset you end up using.
> I can't help not getting excited by React or not spending a month learning OCaml or building side-projects tangential to my 9-5 line of work...it is a sure fire way to level up as a developer.
Do you feel the side-projects you've worked on in the past have made it easier for you to work on your job, or your current side-projects? Have they given you more insight? Do you come across solutions more easily because...
* you've seen and solved a similar problem before?
* the month you spent working on OCaml gave you insight into a functional way to reframe the issue?
* your exploration of react.js gave you a better appreciation of client-side engineering issues?
* something else?
If you can honestly say 'yes', you are almost certainly leveling up as a developer. Otherwise, you might want to examine whether your side-interests amount to more than dilettantism and whether you might be better served spending some time focused on a single topic.