Author Topic: beginner brain drain  (Read 5743 times)

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Offline JustSquareEnoughTopic starter

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beginner brain drain
« on: July 23, 2018, 01:59:01 am »
As a beginner starting later in life compared to when I went to collage and started my day job I feel like I am forgetting things faster than I am learning them, and just curious if it is the same for other hobbyist out there that don't do this everyday for a living.

what I mean by this is things I have learned earlier in the year, practiced, understood, etc I feel like I now only have a loose understanding of. For example I learned how to use an micro controller, shift register, Hitachi chipset lcd, wrote all of the code from scratch to make it all work.  Today I was looking back at it and I largely don't remember how I did it, but i suppose that if I had to do it a second time I could "figure it out" faster than I did the first time.

Another example, I went through and learned about various transistor amplifier configurations and biasing techniques and I feel / know I would have to open a book for sure to refresh my memory if i were to use it in application.

Maybe this is just normal? learn a concept, largely forget the details over time, but knowing the concept allows you to pick it back up when its needed in a project?

-David
 

Offline Gregg

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2018, 02:11:38 am »
Growing old isn’t for the timid, or the faint of heart. . . but it sure beats the alternative!
 

Offline Old Printer

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2018, 02:48:17 am »
Pretty much the same for me, I take a lot of notes like in school. It helps me retain more, but if I don't use it regularly constant reference to the information is necessary. Eventually the basics get burned in, then more detail. It is important for me to keep my reference info well organized so I can fill in the details quickly. I'm 65 and my memory is not what it was.
 

Offline james_s

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2018, 03:10:41 am »
I find I have to do something frequently or I forget the details. Fortunately it generally comes back a lot quicker than learning the first time.
 

Offline rstofer

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2018, 03:12:13 am »
Your code should have had enough comments that it would be clear to the most casual observer what was happening.  Every pin, timing requirements, startup sequence, everything.  But that's in the past...

You really won't remember stuff you don't use.  In my case, I am happy to remember where I found the answer.  Which book, which chapter, that kind of thing.

There's just too much stuff to remember and it just gets harder with age.
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2018, 05:16:08 am »
That sounds pretty normal, David, especially when your interests are many and varied. There's no way to stay sharp and on top of everything.

Regarding writing code, as rstofer said, you should be voluminous with comments. Even if a section of code is obvious at the time, it may not be when you go back to see what/how you did something a year (or more) later. In your comments, including URLs to relevant material can be helpful too.
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Offline GreyWoolfe

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2018, 11:46:49 am »
I think that whoever coined the phrase, "Growing old gracefully" needs is @ss kicked.  There is nothing graceful about it.  The love life wanes, the eyesight goes, the memory goes, errr, ah, what were we talking about?
"Heaven has been described as the place that once you get there all the dogs you ever loved run up to greet you."
 

Offline digsys

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #7 on: July 23, 2018, 12:27:20 pm »
A few years ago, a customer brought in some industrial PLC for me to fix. It looked a well made unit, so I agreed (usually don't take "foreigner" repairs).
After a couple days I got it going. I commented to him .. it was a nice design, but a bit short in a couple parts, nice layout etc etc
Then he says .. "you idiot, you built it for us years ago" ... oops :-) I searched my archives and found the code .. couldn't even remember writing it !
Hello <tap> <tap> .. is this thing on?
 
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Offline rstofer

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2018, 01:14:42 pm »
I don't need no stinking comments!  There's a reason they call it code 
 

Offline schmitt trigger

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #9 on: July 23, 2018, 01:31:41 pm »
I think that whoever coined the phrase, "Growing old gracefully" needs is @ss kicked.  There is nothing graceful about it.  The love life wanes, the eyesight goes, the memory goes, errr, ah, what were we talking about?

And the SMT components are getting smaller and smaller, while the pulse becomes shakier and the eyesight poorer!
 

Offline JustSquareEnoughTopic starter

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #10 on: July 23, 2018, 02:58:28 pm »
Thanks for all the responses folks. I think Old Printer and a few others hit it on the head, I'm currently balancing the fundamentals while also learning more moderate topics as well and not using either knowledge base enough for it to be "second nature".  so I will just keep learning, building, and forgetting, I suppose that is what this hobby is all about.
 

Online tggzzz

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #11 on: July 23, 2018, 04:31:25 pm »
Much electronic/software "knowledge" has a short half life - pick a value between 3 and 5 years. Details of processor-specific features, or which button to push to floggle the widget are classic examples. If you've done something once it is easy to pick it up.

Hence you are right to concentrate (ho ho) on the fundamentals, which will last a lifetime.

I'm delighted and horrified at how easy it was for me to pick up embedded programming again after 20/30 years. Still 8 bits, still C, still IDEs, still RTOS, still debugging (JTAG vs ICE is unimportant). Cheaper and faster, but no better.

The only sign of light in the tunnel is the XMOS xCORE devices, which are a uesful advance :)
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline In Vacuo Veritas

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #12 on: July 23, 2018, 04:36:47 pm »
As a beginner starting later in life compared to when I went to collage
-David

How old were you?
 

Offline mtdoc

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #13 on: July 23, 2018, 04:37:19 pm »
I'm currently balancing the fundamentals while also learning more moderate topics as well and not using either knowledge base enough for it to be "second nature".  so I will just keep learning, building, and forgetting, I suppose that is what this hobby is all about.

I’m in the same boat.

Find joy in the learning not just the achievement.
 
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Offline Mr. Scram

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #14 on: July 23, 2018, 04:37:44 pm »
Your code should have had enough comments that it would be clear to the most casual observer what was happening.  Every pin, timing requirements, startup sequence, everything.  But that's in the past...

You really won't remember stuff you don't use.  In my case, I am happy to remember where I found the answer.  Which book, which chapter, that kind of thing.

There's just too much stuff to remember and it just gets harder with age.
Comments are one of those things that have to bite before you improve upon yourself
 

Offline JustSquareEnoughTopic starter

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #15 on: July 23, 2018, 06:18:34 pm »
As a beginner starting later in life compared to when I went to collage
-David

How old were you?

I'm still young in the grand scheme of "life" what I meant more by that statement is learning electronics as a hobby in fragments of time seems to be much harder than when I went to collage (for computer science) and all of my time was dedicated to learning, practicing the topic.  :-DD
 

Offline Old Printer

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #16 on: July 23, 2018, 06:54:01 pm »
Your code should have had enough comments that it would be clear to the most casual observer what was happening.  Every pin, timing requirements, startup sequence, everything.  But that's in the past...

You really won't remember stuff you don't use.  In my case, I am happy to remember where I found the answer.  Which book, which chapter, that kind of thing.

There's just too much stuff to remember and it just gets harder with age.
Comments are one of those things that have to bite before you improve upon yourself
Kind of like backing up your hard drive :)
 

Offline T3sl4co1l

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #17 on: July 23, 2018, 07:52:51 pm »
Neural networks need constant reinforcement to remember things.

Don't take 6 month breaks from any particular subject.  Queue up projects in each domain of interest and cycle through them.

I can't even remember peoples' names, until I've heard them three or more times (unless they just happen to "click" for some reason, an existing strong association or something).  That's very average, as far as I know.  Don't worry about it, just put in the effort to overcome it, if you feel that effort is worthwhile. :)

Tim
Seven Transistor Labs, LLC
Electronic design, from concept to prototype.
Bringing a project to life?  Send me a message!
 

Offline joseph nicholas

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #18 on: July 23, 2018, 07:58:18 pm »
I think that whoever coined the phrase, "Growing old gracefully" needs is @ss kicked.  There is nothing graceful about it.  The love life wanes, the eyesight goes, the memory goes, errr, ah, what were we talking about?

Heres a better quote, made famos by Bette Davis= Growin old aint for Sissys
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #19 on: July 23, 2018, 08:43:42 pm »
I think that whoever coined the phrase, "Growing old gracefully" needs is @ss kicked.  There is nothing graceful about it.  The love life wanes, the eyesight goes, the memory goes, errr, ah, what were we talking about?

And the SMT components are getting smaller and smaller, while the pulse becomes shakier and the eyesight poorer!
Don't forget the hands...  |O

Actually, I'm on a medication for it this past month and it's helping (Primidone). Seems the dosage just needs some sorting out.  :)
 

Offline KL27x

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #20 on: July 23, 2018, 09:02:29 pm »
I suspect that for many EE and programmers, that their most productive years will be in their teens and twenties. And that is goes downhill from there. The ones who manage to continue in the field will be the ones with the best people skills and enough ego to continue talking down to the younger generation and make their lives miserable by telling them how to do things, and enough BS skills to appear indispensable to upper brass or investors.  :) Other more technical EE, some end up in a very specialized niche. Much easier to keep current and relevant in a specialty.
« Last Edit: July 23, 2018, 09:04:45 pm by KL27x »
 

Offline tpowell1830

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #21 on: July 23, 2018, 10:31:53 pm »
Other more technical EE, some end up in a very specialized niche. Much easier to keep current and relevant in a specialty.
^^ THIS

Forget the first part that KL27 said tongue-in-cheek. After my beginning years when I had gotten past the gatekeepers, so to speak, I started mentoring younger players as much as I could.

When you are handed project after project, one tends to clear the way in your mind for the new task at hand and therefore, much of what occurred in your previous unrelated project is either lost or stored in a difficult to reach place in your brain, only to be re-awoken when you review your old project at length. Sometimes if you're lucky, some of that knowledge comes back to you. Most projects are somewhat unrelated in certain lines of work, such as my patchwork history.

On the other hand, like KL27 said, if you steep yourself into a single dimensioned niche, you can really absorb a lot in a serial fashion where you can relate current ideas to your original knowledge without that much issue. Since everything is related, the breadcrumbs are still there. Just my opinion.

Hope this helps...
PEACE===>T
 

Offline CatalinaWOW

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #22 on: July 23, 2018, 10:38:19 pm »
Another thing that feeds into it for me is endurance.  When I was a kid I solved many problems in a day or two.  But those days started at sunrise and ended after midnight.  I can't and won't do that anymore so those same problems take a week or more.
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #23 on: July 23, 2018, 11:39:28 pm »
A few years ago, a customer brought in some industrial PLC for me to fix. It looked a well made unit, so I agreed (usually don't take "foreigner" repairs).
After a couple days I got it going. I commented to him .. it was a nice design, but a bit short in a couple parts, nice layout etc etc
Then he says .. "you idiot, you built it for us years ago" ... oops :-) I searched my archives and found the code .. couldn't even remember writing it !

That's a good one. Note to self: don't critique unknown code, designs, etc., lest you discover that it's yours.

I suppose your response could've been, "Yeah, and I'd make it even better knowing what I know now."
« Last Edit: July 24, 2018, 12:10:14 am by bitseeker »
TEA is the way. | TEA Time channel
 

Offline digsys

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Re: beginner brain drain
« Reply #24 on: July 24, 2018, 12:26:20 am »
Quote from: bitseeker
... I suppose your response could've been, "Yeah, and I'd make it even better knowing what I know now."
It was the pivotal moment, the shock, in your life - believing you were invincible ... having produced 100s designs / systems over 30+ yrs - came the day
that you didn't even recognize one of your children .. entirely ! It took a while to come to comprehend, hence I had NO time for an exit response.
Hello <tap> <tap> .. is this thing on?
 


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