It’s said that learning a new language can change the way you think, by giving you a new perspective on the world. An even bigger influence is generational. Programming languages, particularly programming languages taught in school, tend to be taught in waves. It usually starts with C programming or C++ programming. Schools go with the program they teach you not much with the concepts. They do teach you basic concepts like looping, conditions, etc. But that's only 20% of the programming.
The 2016 film Arrival is a science fiction drama movie starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. The key focus of Arrival is language and specifically how language impacts the way we form thoughts and even perceive reality. There’s a beautiful sequence roughly 55 minutes into the film where they discuss the alien language and its problems at length and it includes this quote from one of our main scientists:
“If you immerse yourself into a foreign language then you can actually rewire your brain”
While I enjoyed the film and its concepts, it got me thinking about programming and how different programming languages might alter the way we think about application development.
During my engineering, I started with C programming and moved to python during my 3rd semester. I started working on mini projects using Arduino and raspberry pi. Arduino uses embedded C and raspberry pi uses python.
When I went all into the part of programming and hardware, I wanted to solve all the problems which I encountered using python only. It just changed the way I think. Even now, for a simple problem, I will always think for a logic behind it and start working on it. Start working on projects rather than studying the logic or concepts on a language. Basic concepts are very important, but they can be improvised only when you start working on some projects and implement them.
The concepts you learn in different programming languages will help you think differently in various situations. When you write a piece of code, it should encorage you to finish the code how much ever time it takes.
Programming languages definitely changes how you think and how you make decision in your life. Ultimately, any good computer language should change the way you think. So, started working on any programming language of your choice. Look into problems you encounter or others get, and started working on a solution for it. Each and every problem will have its solution one way or the other.
You can think of the logic while your attending classes or while eating or during a match or while you’re working out. Sometimes you never get the logic when you want them, it will directly come up when you are into some other work.
Alan Perlis once stated:
“A language that doesn’t affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing.”
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