Learning Rust the wrong way. - Ólafur Waage - NDC Sydney 2024

Effective learning often requires embracing “desirable difficulty” - making things deliberately challenging leads to better long-term retention and understanding

Blocked practice (focusing on one thing intensively) is less effective than spaced/interleaved practice (mixing different concepts and spreading learning over time)

Studies show attempting difficult tasks and experiencing initial failure leads to better learning outcomes than starting with easier versions

Don’t rely solely on passive learning methods like watching tutorials or reading documentation - active practice and hands-on coding is essential

The feeling of difficulty during learning doesn’t mean ineffective learning - often the opposite is true. Feeling of ease can be deceptive

Rust’s learning curve and explicit memory/ownership model creates natural “desirable difficulty” that leads to better understanding

Rustlings exercises are recommended as a structured way to learn Rust fundamentals through hands-on practice

Converting existing code from another language to Rust is a useful learning exercise to understand differences in concepts

Don’t try to find “easy ways out” or shortcuts when learning - embrace the difficulty and complexity

Quiz yourself regularly and work on practical projects rather than just reading about concepts

Mix different programming concepts and patterns rather than focusing on one thing at a time

The “curse of knowledge” can make experienced developers underestimate learning difficulty when teaching others