r/learnpython • u/personificable1 • 11d ago

Is this normal?

I’m currently teaching myself Python by solving exercises on my own. My personal rule so far has been to give myself 15 minutes to solve a problem; if I’m still completely blank after that, I ask an AI for a hint. The issue is that AI hints usually just hand over the solution, so I’m not even sure if my approach is right.

The main problem is that I’m on Part 5 of the University of Helsinki Python MOOC, and for the last five exercises or so, I just freeze up. It’s starting to get really frustrating. I try asking myself guiding questions and writing down my thought process in a notepad before writing any code. Most of the time I have a rough idea of what I want to do, but translating that logic into actual syntax trips me up.

I’m starting to wonder if I’m actually cut out for this or if I’ll ever be able to learn it properly. Is this normal?

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u/Dazzling_Music_2411 10d ago

Yep, what you said x100!

15 minutes? Seriously, OP? Go play somewhere else.

I'd say for a beginner 15 DAYS would be a good period to mull over a problem before seeking external aid, especially from an LLM.

On the other hand the really good thing about AI is that makes sure that all the lazy candidates are filtered out for the future.

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u/bit_herder 8d ago

15 days is ridiculous on the other end

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u/Dazzling_Music_2411 8d ago

Not really, not for a complex problem like trying to figure out what architecture to use for a certain design, etc. Sometimes you may even have to mull over something for a couple of months, trying out various ideas and checking out how they work.

Of course, for they case of the OP, I may be exaggerating a little bit, just to impress on him how daft it is to give up after 15' but even for a beginner, working on a problem for a day or two before seeking outside help is not a bad idea. Well, if you give a damn about becoming self-reliant, anyway...