[ukFxqnLa2sBSBf6]

I also have a masters in CS but I still consider myself to be “self taught” to a degree. I didn’t really learn anything in lectures or from my professors. Most of my learning came from doing homework, reading textbooks, studying for tests, exploring the material, being curious, experimenting with side projects.

I’m sure my education was more structured than a developer who didn’t go to school, but I don’t feel like there’s a huge fundamental difference.

Like if you’re only “learning” from what people teach you then how are you going to be successful in software?

[noduerme]

"being curious" carries a lot of weight here.

I mean, I was so curious, I started coding as a kid and got a tech job right out of high school. But I quit it at 19 because it didn't answer any of my questions about life. I moved to another city, waited tables, bartended, joined a band, drove a taxi, wrote a few novels, and started making indie games on the side. Eventually, the thing I found that I was most curious about was actually the intersection of code and art, and the way those things could be made to play off each other. That was the language in which I could best express myself and do truly original things.

To be intellectually curious is a rare thing these days. It's the main deciding factor if I'm hiring someone. Or going on a date.

[jandrewrogers]

> To be intellectually curious is a rare thing these days

Absence of intellectual curiosity has always been the default state of humanity. I don’t think there has ever been a time when it wasn’t rare.