2024 the best way to learn a new language review

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(as of Dec 13, 2024 18:19:17 UTC - Details)

I wasn't smart enough to learn a computer language like Python—until I got smart about how to learn it.

I was smart enough to earn an honors degree in philosophy from Harvard, but an aptitude test told me to avoid computer programming. I'm sure it was right. But then I designed a learning system for myself that quadrupled my aptitude for learning computer languages. It worked so well for me that I've used it to teach coding to grandmothers, cab drivers, musicians, and 50,000 other newbies.

"Mark Myers' method of getting what can be...difficult information into a format that makes it exponentially easier to consume, truly understand, and synthesize into real-world application is beyond anything I've encountered before." —Amazon reviewer Jason A. Ruby reviewing my first book, A Smarter Way to Learn JavaScript

Quadruple your learning ability.

Washington University research shows that a key teaching method I use—interactive recall practice—improves learning performance 400 percent.

"I don't feel lost and I don't feel that I am forgetting things as I go along." —Amazon reviewer Leonie M. reviewing my second book, A Smarter Way to Learn HTML and CSS

Understanding is easy. Remembering is hard.

Computer languages are not inherently hard to understand, even for non-techies. Remembering is the problem. If you remember all of Chapter 1 through Chapter 10, you'll understand Chapter 11. But you don't remember. Though you read and read, most of it doesn't stick. You don't have a solid foundation to build on. Halfway through the book, it all collapses. That's when most people give up.

"I've signed up to a few sites like Udemy, Codecademy, FreeCodeCamp, Lynda, YouTube videos, even searched on Coursera but nothing seemed to work for me. This book takes only 10 minutes each chapter and after that, you can exercise what you've just learned right away!" —Amazon reviewer Constanza Morales reviewing my first book, A Smarter Way to Learn JavaScript

Interactive exercises make it stick.

Research shows that you will remember everything if you're repeatedly asked to recall it. That's the beauty of flash cards. But technology offers an even better way to make information stick. With my book you get almost a thousand interactive exercises—they're free online—that embed the whole book in your memory. Algorithms check your work to make sure you know what you think you know. When you stumble, you do the exercise again. You keep trying until you know the chapter cold.

"Not only do the exercises make learning fun, they reinforce the material right away so it sinks in deeper." —Amazon reviewer Timothy B. Miller reviewing my second book, A Smarter Way to Learn HTML and CSS

You won't get bored or sleepy.

The exercises keep you engaged, give you extra practice where you're shaky, and prepare you for each next step. Every lesson is built on top of a solid foundation that you and I have carefully constructed. Each individual step is small. But all the little steps add up to real knowledge—knowledge that you retain.

I finally feel like I KNOW it and won't need to look up the syntax each time..." —Amazon reviewer J. Caritas reviewing my third book, A Smarter Way to Learn jQuery

Really, it ain't that hard.

Reviewing my books on Amazon, readers who've struggled with programming concepts like functions, loops, and scope write, "I had no idea these things were so simple!"

"...makes it much easier to suddenly realize a concept that seemed abstract and too hard to wrap your head around is suddenly not complicated at all." — Amazon reviewer IMHO reviewing A Smarter Way to Learn JavaScript

You don't need to be a computer genius to learn Python. You just need to be smart about how you learn it.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 9, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 236 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1974431479
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1974431472
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.54 x 10 inches
Reviewer: Christopher H. Wilson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: This is the best introductory self-teaching Python ebook I've found
Review: Publication attributesTitle: A Smarter Way to Learn PythonSubtitle: Learn it faster. Remember it longer.Edition number: (1)Media type: ebookCopy type: KindleISBN number(s): 1974431479 9781974431472My reviewTo what extent did I read and/or study this book?I read the entire book and completed nearly all of the practice exercises; however, I didn’t look at any of the appendices (because I don’t need to).What fields, subjects, and topics does this book cover?It covers most of the essential functions and methods of the Python (3) computer language.What fields, subjects, and topics does this book NOT cover?This ebook does NOT include any:• programming theory (even absolute-beginner theory)• in-depth explanations or examples• comparisons with other languagesHowever, none of the above limitations are a negative criticism of the book; they merely define the book’s scope.What is the overall tone of the author’s writing style?All of the explanations are very straightforward, in the sense that they aren’t cluttered with excessive and unnecessary academic language. Most of the chapters use a tone where the author is “talking down” to a beginning-level reader, but the language is never disrespectful, condescending, or silly. The author is (presumably) assuming that the reader doesn’t know anything about Python and therefore requires simple and relatable explanations.What did I like about this book?I love that this ebook comes with a complete set of practice exercises for each chapter that are extremely well-made and maintained, and don’t require any additional expense to use. In my opinion, every single technical ebook should include similar practice exercises and problems (to the extent that the evaluation of answers can be automated). Most of the learning process for computer languages is nothing more than memorizing the names and syntax of methods, and the only way to solidify memories is through repetitive practice.I also love how thorough and organized the content is, relative to the beginner-level scope. Everything a Python novice needs to get started is included, and is presented in a reasonably logical order.What did I NOT like about this book?I was sometimes mildly annoyed that a small number of the practice exercises didn’t parse correctly, and the checker stubbornly insisted that my answers were incorrect (even when I cut and pasted the correct answer). However, nothing is graded and it’s perfectly easy to skip any of the exercises, so minor glitches aren’t worth fussing over.Most of time, when I got the answers wrong, it was my fault, so I can only blame myself for not taking the time to carefully think through the exercise. However, there are some instances where the expected answer is unusually specific, so there’s a little bit of guesswork involved in determining what is expected, even when those precise expectations aren’t always explicitly stated.My conclusionsWas reading and/or studying this book worthwhile for me?Completing all of the exercises for this ebook was one of the most helpful and enjoyable self-teaching experiences I’ve ever had, and I’ve tried many of the available online courses for Python. I wish there were a lot more books like this, especially for computer-parsable subjects like math.Would I recommend this book to others?If you already have a vague idea of what a computer program does and how it works, and just want to dive into learning Python, this ebook and the associated practice exercises are the perfect way to begin.What additional materials will others need to make use of this book?Toward the end of the ebook, you’ll need to start coding small programs on your own computer (rather than using the web portal), but the ebook provides the necessary information.It also helps to have the official Python documentation website open at all times, as a reference. Everything you need to know about the language is there, including some tutorials.My ratings (0.0-5.0)Quality of content: 5Quality of writing: 5Quality of editing: 5Value to myself: 5Potential value to others: 5Review-document metadataInitial completion date: 220401Review version and revision: V1R0Template version and revision: V1R2

Reviewer: Michael Prem
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: It Makes Learning Easy
Review: Really enjoying using this book to learn Python. The web site learning is great.

Reviewer: Lach
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A practical method of learning, with a few distracting mistakes.
Review: Myers actually does offer a better way to learn programming. I found his HTML book to be the clearest of all the HTML books I tried. So when I took up Python, I bought Myers' book on Python. He clearly and simply explains and demonstrates each step in a short chapter, then there are interactive exercises at the end of the chapter.The teaching method is excellent, with clear step-by-step explanations and online practice exercises. Even where the concepts are familiar, it's good to get the practice so the nuances of a new language can soak in. The problem is the typos. Sometimes he leaves out a key term or puts the wrong word in his code examples. I caught one such error in an early chapter, where I easily spotted the inconsistency with his other code examples. Sorry I can't be more specific, since it wasn't like I could stick a post-it note in the page of the Kindle book. But now that I'm in unfamiliar territory (chapter 68, dealing with CSV files), it was a lot harder to recognize that had used inconsistent names for the same variable "reader_of_f" in line 2 and "contents_of_f" in line 4. Maybe the time it took me to dissect the sample code and discover the error has contributed to my comprehension of the subject, but I don't think it's the kind of pedagogy we want.I thought the chapters might be a little too repetitious for simple concepts. I've done a bit of programming in the Arduino IDE, and Python looks similar enough that I was sailing through the book and thinking it was a cinch. When I stopped long enough to do some of the interactive exercises, however, I found that I needed to pay attention to practical items like where to put the parentheses, quotes, and punctuation. It's like the difference between being able to understand a foreign language and being able to speak it. So go ahead and skim through a chapter if you think you already understand it, but do enough of the interactive exercises to be sure that your confidence is justified and and that you can put the concepts into practice.

Reviewer: RAMP
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
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Review: Everything is explained very easy, with simple words and why things happens. I loved it.

Reviewer: Palmerim S de Sa
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Extraordinary method for learning python the easy way. I've loved it. You immediately practice every detail of what was taught and still have some important challenges

Reviewer: Russell A Carre
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
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Reviewer: Vicmex
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This books make believe you can do it! It explains out any doubt ot questions you might have and makes programming quite charming. Thus far loving it!

Reviewer: Arvind
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Very good book,We can practice using link given in the book.Mark Myers had put a lot of effort in my no writing this book,so that people like us who are not confident in doing programming,can easily and precisely learn it.