The idea that you can learn something simply by doing it is stupid. If you don’t know what you’re doing and why, you haven’t really learned anything. I think this is part of the problem I have with people who learn to code online.  Frequently all they’re doing is looking at code samples. They see them, they don’t read the explanations (if there even is one), and they use them. Then they think they know how to do whatever it is the code sample is doing. Sure they know the one very specific bit of code. But without understanding why that code works, how can it be applied to other situations? Without knowing how that code works, how can you begin to make informed decisions about what code to use?

Without understanding you’re just a monkey pushing a button.