How to (truly) learn whilst working on code?

Question

I believe I am quite good at "figuring stuff out", however recently I find myself thinking, is there a different way to work in which you may be slightly slower but end up learning more!Would love to hear how others try and achieve this in their work.

rozgo · Accepted Answer

Thinking with your code can be an effective learning tool. You can learn how to offset more and more abstraction layers to your code and focus on higher level capabilities. When your code becomes a thinking tool, you will pay more attention to the languages you use, and start requiring more from them; as they will shape your thinking.Initially, ML languages did this for me. I now use Rust in a similar fashion. Even when I have to program in languages that require heavy cognitive load, like C++ and JS, I can leverage what I've learn in my preferred languages. Program defensively (maybe slower?), design with types, and still be able to build highly complex software while managing complexity.