A Good Day In Computer Hell

 I sat there from about 10 AM until 6 PM. 

With one break to pee. No food.

I was locked in. I was obsessed. I was making baby steps.

 Then it wouldn’t work. I’d try something else. Still no luck. I got into a chat box with Marvelous. No help at all.

  I got into a chat box with Google. Better. But still, I couldn’t get Marvelous and Google to talk to one another. 

But then, I did something, and it connected. 

Oh my god.

I was so happy. 

I had persisted. I had figured it out. 

It was 6 PM. 

It had taken me eight solid hours without a break.

I was hungry. 

I was ebullient. 

I needed a drink.

Eight solid hours of learning by making mistakes. Eight hours of trying to articulate my problem to the person in the chat box.

And here is the takeaway: Articulating your problem as succinctly as possible is the key to problem-solving.

This applies to every problem in life. 

If I can describe my problem in words, as clearly as possible, I have a fighting chance of getting to a solution.

But if I cannot articulate my problem, there is no possible way I will ever reach a solution.

In so many ways, I hate the chat box. 

In so many ways, I want to talk to a real live person. 

I tell myself it would be so much easier, not to mention efficient, if I could just TALK TO A PERSON.

But yesterday, I realized this wasn’t true.

When I talk to a person, there is a lot of sighing and drama, and whining. 

When I have to express my problems in words and type them into a box, I must be clear and unemotional. 

A few times yesterday, I discovered that simply writing the problem out in words revealed the solution. 

I also discovered that if I can speak the language of the tech person, I get better results.

Unfortunately, I know enough about coding to get myself in trouble. It’s like knowing a little of a foreign language. You think you’re ordering a taco, but you wind up asking for shit on a tortilla. 

But if I learned anything yesterday, it’s that if I continue to try and, in the process, learn, I’ll solve my problem. 

I have been messing a bit with ChatGPT, and it’s the same thing. To get the best results, you have to craft your prompt meticulously. That’s the art of it. 

Learning is hard. Learning takes time, persistence, and the ability to endure the extreme discomfort of feeling stupid.

Learning involves holding onto the fragile hope that something might dawn on you in the dark.