Learning Python
I dove into Python yesterday. Today: I’m reading the tutorials. I like it. What did you expect? Everyone seems to like it, right? Have you met a person who learned Python that hates the language?
So, I’m still n00b status, but here’s the deal: It’s got all the things I love about Javascript, the good parts of Java (no bloat), and the fundamental simplicity of C. PHP is conspicuously absent here, but … now that I mention it, there’s something there too.
Let’s over go over those, since you may be flaming me already. Hey! I’m still a n00b.
Javascript I really like the function mapping aspects. Ok, so this is more of a jQuery-type thing. But it’s possible, and jQuery makes it obvious — in-your-face — how useful this feature is. I could care less about lambda functions right now, but I think they’re related. I like the way zip() works on arrays.
Java Ah, the language of verbosity. I’d rather dictate War and Peace, than write Java. What’s so good about Java? It’s got a great package system, and the try/catch/finally construct. Python’s equivalent: try/except/finally. Thumbs up! Java has a good class hierarchy that Python seems to duplicate (minus the Java overhead).
C There’s nothing more powerful than C. Assembly’s got nuthin’ on C. C is the ultimate speed-speed trade-off. The speed of code development vs the speed of execution. Everything else is derivative bloat that hinders performance. So, how does Python act like C? Well, the BDFL gives Python a coherent structure. The Java package sprawl problem is not present. Code bases are tight. Syntax is rigid. Writing Python is like clock-work — it must be precise.
PHP Don’t flame. Here it is. Python is extra-great because it’s interpreted. PHP is interpreted. That is all.
Confusion says: The n00b walks a fine line of asking and testing. Nobody ever said learning a language was easy. It should be fun (or interesting if you don’t like learning) though! So here’s the deal: I’m not flying yet. I’m tutorializing. Short programs are useful learning tools, but jumping in the deep end really makes you sink or swim — strangely, I’m trying to be trite right now. I don’t get lambda. I don’t know why there are so many different types of lists. I know I’ve had a need for sets, lists, hashes, tuples, queues, and the like, but is it really necessary that there be a specific data type for each? Whatever, I’m a n00b. I know performance is probably the real motivator, but c’mon! It’s interpretive. I was surprised to learn that compiled Python (.pyc) does not execute any faster than inline Python (.py) (Can’t find the reference). The .pyc files make the module load faster, not execute faster.
Anyway, right now, Python makes a great calculator. Anyone living in Hawai’i will tell you the numerous “spam and eggs” references make’s ‘em hungry too!
Think and Grow Rich: Don’t read it, imagine what it would say.
After reading half of the book, I feel as though I have a good idea about where it’s headed, if anywhere at all. It feels scammy. Why? So many scammy self-help authors out there asserts Napoleon Hill’s advice as their own. It feels dirty, tainted, simpleton, and yet, there’s truth in there.
I have no desire to see this book through to its end. Having skimmed the table of contents, and having read the first few chapters, I feel fairly confident that I can imagine the advice to come in the remaining chapters.
Sometimes, it’s not the advice, but the story, that makes a book worth reading. I do fear that not seeing this book through, I’ll miss out on a little nugget that might actually be more valuable than the hour or so that I’ve spared myself by not reading this book to the very end.
It is for that reason that I’ve decided to not issue chapter-by-chapter updates from here on out. The time spent writing is wasteful, not to mention painful. It’s bad enough that I have yet to endure another hour of this trivial little book.
I may write a final summary, but don’t hold your breath. I’ve written enough.
Synopsis: Think and Grow Rich, Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Auto-Suggestion
The Medium for Influencing the Subconscious Mind
This chapter instructs the reader in following the 6 steps outlined in chapter 2. It recommends upon completion of this book, that the student re-read this chapter aloud every night.
In essence, visualize with as much detail the work you’ll be doing that is needed to generate the desired result.
Synopsis: Think and Grow Rich, Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Faith
Visualization of, and Belief in Attainment of Desire
The word faith as the author uses it can be interchanged with belief and believing.
Repeat a lie enough times and you’re bound to believe it. In order for your actions to be of impulse, your mind must belief (have faith) in the idea. Therefore, all effort made to convince yourself that you already possess that which you want to possess will lead your mind to work in ways that will cause you to possessing it.
Faith is a state of mind which may be induced by auto-suggestion.
We can amplify our ability to believe if we attach emotional weight behind that which we desire. These emotions help the brain up-take our desires and lead us in the direction of its attainment.
Synopsis: Think and Grow Rich, Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Desire
The Starting Point of All Achievement
There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is DEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning DESIRE to possess it.
pg. 38
There are 6 steps to transforming desire into outcome.
- You must be explicit in your wants.
- You must determine what you’re willing to give in order to get what you want.
- Specify a precise timeline required to reach your goals.
- Determine a plan of action and begin immediately.
- Put the whole scheme into plain English.
- Read the statement twice daily until you feel and believe it to already be.
You achieve what you set out to achieve, so set your goals high.
In order to have a burning desire to accomplish something, you must be willing to burn bridges. By burning bridges, you leave yourself no room for error. You force yourself to succeed because you cannot go back. Failure is not an option.
You must believe in yourself and your ability to achieve your goals so that you can take the necessary actions to reach your goals.
Synopsis: Think and Grow Rich, Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Introduction
The Man Who “Thought” His Way Into Partnership With Thomas A. Edison
This is a first in a series of chapter synopses of Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. I won’t bother to cite details, as I’ve already read them. The point of these synopses is to jog the memory and record the salient points.
The first chapter is a “dimming of the lights” in preparation for the contents to come. We meet a man who gave up digging for gold, not knowing that he was just 3 feet away from striking it rich (he should have asked an expert). This same man witnessed an event where a young colored girl didn’t back down to a white uncle and got what she wanted. Remember that this book was written in the 1930’s and is recording a common, racially sensitive issue. We discover that this man goes on to become a successful insurance salesman who makes most of his sales after the pitchee has said “no.”
The common thread here is determination or desire. The miner lacked it, the colored girl didn’t know that she had it, and the salesman had learned from his previous mistakes.
