Sometime last year, around the time I discovered bitcoin, I had an epiphany...
The importance placed on my generation to learn how to type will be the equivalent to my sons generation learning how to program.
Not only knowing the 'how' of programming or coding, but also knowing the 'why' of what code is doing under the hood.
From the time I started down this rabbit hole of coding and learning about bitcoin, blockchains, APIs and whatever other jargon you can throw out in the ring, I recognized how important it will be for humans to be able to communicate with machines.
As per usual, speed and accuracy of this communication is vitally important. But just like the perspective gained from learning other human languages, learning how to speak to the machines also develops a perspective change in how technology works around you.
One of the best tools I've picked up from mentors along the way to help me 'speak machine' was Typing.io. This is a browser-based application that allows you to type your way through pre-existing code, or upload your own.
There are a number of existing languages with code examples that you can use from Python, Ruby, Git, C++, Java, HTML, CSS and more.
Once I got moving along, I started uploading my own code. One was a bot written in Python for an automated lending strategy on Poloniex.
As it was explained to me, and what I've confirmed to be true, typing your way through other peoples code actually helps you learn the structure of the syntax and what is going on in scripts and programs, even if you are new to programming.
Equally as important, this really helps your hands get used to typing the numerous hard-to-reach characters that are scattered all over these wonderful tools called keyboards.
I always screw up the - _ and + =key. I know this because its analyzed my mistakes. Dammit.
For an extra monthly fee, you can get some extra bells and whistles like mistake heatmaps(seen below) and more. Not necessary, but definitely a nifty feature.
So even if you're not a coder and don't want to be, I would recommend taking a look at some code and attempt to understand from a very high level what is going on. Those who can communicate with robots in the future will facilitate those robots to achieve more than they could alone. For this, humans will be an asset.
But knowing how to communicate with them is the key. Start learning now!
