Learning Python for no reason

[Erich]

On May 12, 12:27 pm, "John Salerno" <johnj... at NOSPAMgmail.com> wrote:

> The *process* of learning is enough fun for me, and every now and then I do
> find a small use for Python that really pays off, but for the most part I'm
> wondering what people's thoughts are as far as simply learning it for the
> sake of learning. Does it seem like a silly endeavor to most people? Did
> anyone here learn a programming language when you didn't need to? If so, how
> much and in what capacity did you use it after you learned it?
>

I am of the belief that there is no such thing as "useless learning",
or "bad learning"*. I have found that the more I learn about anything,
the better I am at everything. I think this is because more knowledge/
understanding does:
1. gives me more 'entry points' for new knowledge, I can relate more
bits to something I know, making the whole learning process easier.
2. allows me to better relate to people who I need to communicate
with, becuase it is more likely there is a common point of knowledge/
interest to build from
3. gives me personal satisfaction in my life (self-actualization).

When I learned python, I was a bartender, and was just learning it for
fun. Only later did I become a computer programmer. I was lucky enough
to find a job where I get to do a lot of my work in python.

* There are times when learning new info set A is more productive than
new info set B, depending on other constraints of time, energy, money,
etc, B could be classified as "unwise learning"

Regards,
Erich