How to learn a given technology at a deeper level? Part 2 — Quick tips

In part 1, we covered WHY we should put in the effort to learn any technology in depth. In this post, I will cover exactly how I did the “depth learning” thing for a specific technology, which in my case, happened to be java.

The following quote might have a hint as to how to go about it.

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn

- Benjamin Franklin

Implementing these tips might take more or less time based on how your mind works, and whether you are a quick learner. Below I have mentioned what worked for me.

1) On average, learning a technology in depth took me on average 3 months or so, without distractions.

2) Find one resource, not 2 or 3 or many, but just one good exhaustive resource. And go through that resource start to finish.

3) Do a lot of thinking about everything it says, and think of a reason as to why the author wrote those statements.

a) If the author talks about a rule that needs to be followed in the resource for the technology to work correctly, think about why that rule exists.

b) If the author mentions any do’s or don’ts, and you don’t understand the reason mentioned, then try to think by yourself, why exactly should you follow those rules. What would happen if you broke those rules? If you still can’t figure it out, then immediately setup the tech on local machine and attempt to break the rule, and it would be clear why you can’t do it

4) In case if 3) fails, use google or youtube to read resources to properly understand the concept, and convince yourself about it.

These are some of the simple tips. The rest need some explanation and hence are a little long, so I have decided to add them to part 3 of this series.

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