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Hatem Said
Hatem Said

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what to do when you feel stupid?

a couple of days ago I had a recursion problem that drove me crazy, and I have never felt that stupid before, so what you do when you feel stupid not because of lack of knowledge, you know the logic but you just can't apply it.
thanks

Top comments (10)

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itsasine profile image
ItsASine (Kayla)

I think taking a walk is the best thing to do in those cases. Just stepping away from the computer.

In general, I've been trying to get over the dumb feeling by keeping a log of the stuff I'm good at and have done. That way, when I need to redo a resume or LinkedIn, I have one place with that info. It also would work for feeling dumb at work, since there would be proof I did know stuff, even if it didn't click this one time.

Like the three days I spent trying to fix a test that was failing because the data was being screwed up by a different way earlier in the test suite.

I may still be salty about that one.

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khaled_garbaya profile image
Khaled Garbaya

I recommend Having a rubber duck friend/buddy, this helped me a lot.

Whenever you have a problem try to describe it to them out loud, sometime you'll realize what you did wrong while describing the problem.

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scottishross profile image
Ross Henderson

Comment on YouTube videos.

But seriously I talk out my problem to a colleague. I don't want them to fix the problem for me, it helps me word it in a way that others can understand and that helps me understand the problem; and often the solution.

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dhavalwd profile image
Dhaval Vyas

I totally agree on this.

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alephnaught2tog profile image
Max Cerrina

Take a break. Depending on how bad you feel -- take a longer break and work on some feel-good code. The code equivalent of popcorn. Light, easy, fun, whatever that means for you. Whatever it takes to get you to remember the fun parts of it.

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charliedevelops profile image
charliedeveloper

I have a few races on Mario Kart, it helps me step away from the keyboard for a few minutes, its super fun, i can take out my frustration in a healthy way by lobbing shells at the other racers and I like the little confidence boost if I finish on the podium. It helps me do a total U turn on my state of mind and I can come back to my code with a new mindset and approach.

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dianawebdev profile image
Diana
  • Don't panic
  • Go for a walk. (Better: work out to flood your brain with oxygen and free your mind)
  • Switch to another ticket (if possible) for at least two hours.
  • Optional: Big cup of coffee.
  • Talking to a non-developer about it helps me a lot, because you describe the problem and its context from another point of view.
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vithabada profile image
Vít Habada

you think in terms of 'punishing' yourself for not knowing / not being able to. Instead be excited for the challenge / lack of knowledge, because you're learning.

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buinauskas profile image
Evaldas Buinauskas

We got a rule within the team: if it takes more than 1 hour to solve a problem, ask someone for help without feeling guilty.

If it's something private, I better look at it next day in the morning.

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niorad profile image
Antonio Radovcic

Oh this is awesome. Draw the thing on paper, or sleep on it.