Not knowing things

I've got the Pro Git book to read not long ago. It's simply ridiculous how bad I am with certain technologies. So I was wondering what it means - not knowing something.


Git has a pretty interesting learning curve. It looks like ECG diagram. Mostly stable, easy - but it has peaks scattered around. I use it in the last 5 years and 95% of the times it works like a charm. The rest is pain from hell. This post is not really about Git. But that's a good example to say - I might going to die without learning it. It's like having a significant other and not knowing what s/he is arguing about every once in a while.

Same with compiling binaries. I prefer compiling unix tools over using macports or alike software. But many times it exits with a weird error message. Lot's of warnings in C code and strange environment incompatibilities. I do the same all the time - go to Google, copy-paste the message and pray like never before.

My friend had to pet his floppy drive in order to work. I was talking a lot to the make files. Some developers I know hit the computer. You know, authentic IT magic. But it's still outrageous.

I literally feel pain (scientifically proven) when XCode whines me about an incompatible library or architecture.

So what do you gonna do about it? Who to blame? I would it's pretty much playing with fire. Nowadays I use tools I have really short knowledge about. I'm sure at some point you met with this typical guy who were always asking you whenever had a tiny problem. The annoying dummy kid. Well, let's be frank. I am the dummy tard and Google is the patient expert of mine. And actually Google never mad at me. I can imagine we do robots in the future just to serve one purpose - express our annoying self. And let the humans get the charming personal attributes.

But Google is not knowledge for many reasons. One, I don't know my problem. When I have an armageddon in my Git repo I have absolutely no idea what is it. Then Google only can point to me exactly where I tell it. And then if Google provides as amateur help as I am we're all doomed.

So what? We cannot learn everything. I actively practice ~12 different programming languages and some configuration grammars with their dialects, just like any web developer. And I'm not on the top with any of them. I use applications, tools for analyzing, debugging, measuring my work - which I have no deep knowledge.

Shall I just limit my scope just because I don't know them? I think if I promise I never write any spaceship engine handler code it's gonna be allright. But it's still damn frustrating that I don't know Git. And C. And Unix. And JavaScript. *sigh*

I'm wondering what people do in that case. Cheat sheets? Books? Training? A smart friend?

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Peter