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Logical and Analytical SKills

 
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1.As we all commonly know, programming requires good logical and anaytical skills and thinking. Does one have to be intelligent to be good in programming ?
2.Or does it come by practice ?
3.An intelligent person with higher IQ may easily be able to do it . But what about the others or an average person ?

4.How is one supposed to decide upon whether or not he / she is suitable for a software developer / programmer profile ?
5.And how do these logical thinking skills get learnt ?
6.Should they be there naturally in the person ?
7.Or can it be acquired with practice / experience ?
 
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Programming can be learned for the most part, but it helps if you have some talent.
For some people it will just take longer to pick up.
It like cycling, everyone can learn to ride a bike, but some have a natural feel for it
 
Marshal
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Don't know to what extent such skills are innate, but it is certainly possible to increase skills with practice. It is probably a bad idea to do all the practice alone; that simply allows bad habits to go unchecked.

I think this discussion would fit well in our soft skills forum, so I shall duplicate it there.
 
Greenhorn
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I would say practice and practice keeps you going.

Programming languages evolve each day and year with new iterations coming in. So getting to use in real life scenarios, projects could help you progress. No innate genius brain required. No one is born to code or develop things, they learn. Get properly trained either by going for training classes or practice online through tutorials.
 
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One thing which may be lost on some people is that many programming languages use English words.
If you did not grow up learning English and you wish to program then you most likely need to learn English.
With that in mind, yes some programmers are smart because they know both English and another language e.g. German, Dutch, French.

I do think that some people have more of an affinity to computer programming then others, just like some people have more of an affinity to mathematics then others.
However, I suspect that some logical and analytical skills can be learn/improved upon with teaching and experimentation.

I'm not too sure that there is such a thing as an "average person". Everyone, even twins, have different experiences and expectations which form they views and skills.
For those of us who have helped people with computer problems before we can say that sometimes people do not see the logical consequences of their actions.
For example if you say "yes" to installing all of the software all of the time then your computer will most likely be running slow and it will have adware/malware/spyware on it.

I'm not to sure how to know if computer programming is right for you?
  • For some people it most defiantly not what they should be doing even if they do think that they can do it, but it can be an useful hobby for those people.
  • For others is it something that they feel comfortable doing and they enjoy the challenges and rewards that it brings.
  • Perhaps this is the only way that you can make a living, so then it is for you.
  • Maybe ask yourself "If I did not do computer programming, what would I be doing?"
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    Lilou Laure
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    OK everybody ! Thanks for your help !

    I mostly am able to  find solutions myself  in the brute force method. But it involves a higher time complexity ! And I find it a little hard to figure out a solution with lesser time complexity on my own .      
     
    Lilou Laure
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    How do I get better at finding lesser complexity solutions
     
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    If you have an aptitude for something, I think you'll know it after doing it for a while. I was interested in a few sports growing up, like baseball, swimming, basketball. I quickly figured out that I sucked at basketball, wasn't a good or strong enough swimmer, and was ok as a left fielder in baseball. Of the three, I enjoyed baseball the most. Then I went bowling with my girlfriend. My first few outings were horrific and I was terribly embarrassed. But instead of thinking that this was another thing I sucked at like basketball, I kept at it. After a while, I got decent. After more time, I got pretty good. My highest score ever in bowling was in the 230s. Even though my wife and I probably only bowl maybe three or four times a year, I still score about 150 average and the last time we went, I bowled a 193.

    I guess the point of all that is that I think most people know more or less whether or not they have a knack for doing something. The fact that you're asking the questions you're asking makes me think you have a sense of your own limitations. On the other hand, I also believe that success is mostly from. attitude and effort with a little help from aptitude and luck. I have to throw luck in there because I think I've been pretty lucky. But at the same time, I work pretty hard at getting better every day.

    So, bottom line: work hard, study diligently, practice mindfully, and enjoy what you're doing but also, know your own limitations.
     
    Marshal
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    When I was in school I was a year younger than the rest of my class and I was smaller than average for my age. So I quickly "learned" that I was no good at sports.

    Then when I was out of school and out of university I found out that I was actually quite good at distance running. But schools in my day didn't count distance running as a sport. Anyway my point is that you can "learn" a lot of things about yourself which aren't true.
     
    Lilou Laure
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    OK everybody thanks for your tips and suggestions ! Will keep my practice on and lets see what it brings me !        
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