Learning on I'm Gilmar Soares

Going Against the Flow of the World

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 16:40:03 -0300

In my country, this week marks the start of “Black Week,” although the correct term is “Black Friday,” traditionally a single day of discounts in stores. As you know, I’m a software engineer, and this week I’ve noticed many courses on sale, offering a variety of options for learning new things.

However, this time, I’ve been reflecting on these courses and the increasingly fast-paced world we live in—a world where everyone feels the need to learn quickly and where courses often promise accelerated learning. I’ve decided that, as a human being, I shouldn’t follow this path of speed.

Throughout history, anyone who has gained deep knowledge in a subject has done so through years of study and consistent practice. I believe this should remain the standard today.

The idea behind this post isn’t about avoiding buying courses or learning materials altogether. Instead, it’s about embracing the process of learning gradually, a little every day, and resisting the pressure to conform to the fast-paced trends of the modern world.

With that in mind, I’d like to share my decision this Black Friday week: I’ve decided not to buy any courses or materials that promise faster, easier, or miraculous results. Instead, I’ll continue reading my books, sticking to the routine I shared here, and focusing on learning slowly and deeply.

I hope you make the most of this week of discounts where you live and take the opportunity to plan ahead, focusing on a path that considers the medium and long term and that this post inspires you to reflect on your learning process and the path you’re taking.

Hugs! 🤗

This Post Isn't About Technology

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 17:36:05 -0300

This post is about depth of knowledge!

When I started my blog, I added Google Analytics—not to track performance, but because I was curious about how people engage with my posts.

Over time, as I’ve been writing for this blog, I’ve observed an interesting trend. People seem to gravitate toward “ready-made recipes” or practical guides. For instance, when I wrote posts about studying Golang or how Exercism helps me learn, they attracted little attention. Similarly, posts about LeetCode, study techniques, or my personal schedule and life routines didn’t generate much traffic.

However, when I shared a step-by-step guide on using Swagger in a Golang API—essentially a “recipe”—it became the most-viewed post in my blog’s history.

The image above shows a visualization of my blog’s behavior over the past week. As we can see, the post about Swagger has received more than double the views of any other post.

Reflecting on this, if I could share one piece of advice, it would be this:

Treat your life as a long journey—a marathon, not a sprint. Organize your time, study a little every day, and create a routine that helps you stay focused. Aim for deep, meaningful learning, because acquiring deep knowledge is the best way to secure a relatively stable future—free from fears and uncertainties, even about challenges like AI.

In the post where I compare life to a marathon rather than a 100-meter sprint, I share how my routine works in the hope of helping and motivating you to organize your life and focus on the long term.

This post isn’t meant as criticism—think of it as friendly advice! As the poet says, “If advice were truly valuable, it would be sold, not given away.” Yet, here I am, offering it freely in an effort to help.

I hope you enjoyed this post and that it inspires or helps you in some way!

Keep Studying Never Stop

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 17:43:00 -0300

Why I suggest you never stop studying!

At the start of my career, searching for a profession, I was always very curious about computers, but with a limited income, we couldn’t afford to study, buy computers, or have access to technology in general.

My first job was painting bicycle handlebars, and I had no prospects. Later, I got a job managing the inventory of a candy store. With that, I made an agreement with my family that the little money I earned would go towards paying for college, and we all agreed!

Before starting college, a friend recommended me for an infrastructure job (internship), and without a second thought, I said YES YES YES, I WANT IT! In the interview, I wasn’t truthful, FEARING I MIGHT LOSE THE ONLY CHANCE, and when they asked if I had ever swapped hard drives in servers, I said YES, OF COURSE!

In the end, it was so simple, and I managed to do it without ever having done it before.

Later in college, I simply fell in love with writing code. I always completed the projects and tasks, sometimes without sleeping, but I got them done, and with an indescribable joy.

Today, I have become a software engineer, and I continue learning new technologies as if it were my first day.

I must say, college helped my life in a way NOTHING else could have; it changed everything for the better! Sometimes I hear people say it’s not worth it, but I think the opposite—if you can or want to, do it without hesitation like I did in the past!

Lastly, I’d like to say, despite fears in this new world of GenAI and the challenges that come with it, never, NEVER stop studying.

And if you need help, any mentoring, I can try to help you, just reach out!

Hugs, and keep moving forward with your studies!

How Am I Learning Golang

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 17:34:27 -0300

In my work, I’ve started using Golang. I’m aware of AI tools like ChatGPT, which can help me complete tasks more efficiently. However, I really enjoy learning new technologies and am always open to new challenges.

In the past, I learned Scala, Python, and Java by reading books and practicing them daily. This time, I’m learning Golang using different approaches. I use Exercism to practice Golang, and now I’ll show you how to use it.

Step 1: Install Golang

First, you need to install Golang on your computer. You can download it from the official website. I won’t go into detail on how to install it because it’s straightforward. You can find the installation instructions here.

Once Golang is installed, you can check if it’s installed correctly by running this command:

go version

Step 2: Install Exercism

Now that Golang is installed, let’s install Exercism. You can find the installation instructions for your operating system on this page.

After installing Exercism, you can verify the installation by running:

exercism version

Step 3: Start Practicing

Now that everything is set up, you can start practicing Golang using Exercism. You can download exercises using the following command:

exercism download --exercise=<exercise-name> --track=go

For example:

exercism download --track=go --exercise=lasagna-master

This command will download the lasagna-master exercise for the Golang track.

After solving the exercise, you can submit it using:

exercism submit

This will upload your solution to Exercism, and you can see other people’s solutions as well.

Conclusion

This is how I’m learning Golang using Exercism. It’s a great platform to practice coding in different languages. Let’s try to solve some exercises in Golang or another language you prefer. I hope you enjoy the process!