Mapping the Dark Room: How I Learn (and Why I'm Not Afraid of Zig)

How I Approach Learning

I learn new concepts best by consistently playing around. Tinkering and poking at things to see how they break or why they don’t. Exploring interactions, taking things apart to put them back together, and chasing novelty—it all has consequences. "What happens when..." is a common thought pattern when exploring.

There’s a metaphor I like to use:
Learning is like walking into a dark room in search of a lamp.

You could sit still and wait for someone to hand you a flashlight. But I prefer to stumble forward, hands outstretched, bumping into furniture and occasionally stubbing a toe. I'm not too ashamed to get on my hands and knees and crawl. Slowly, I build a mental map. I start to understand the shape of the room—what’s safe, what’s sharp, and where the cat sleeps.

Eventually, I find the lamp and turn it on. Suddenly everything I felt becomes visible, and often, I find I was mostly right. But now I can also see details I missed. Corners I never touched. Bookshelves I didn’t know were there.

And over in the corner? A door I hadn’t noticed before. It leads to another dark room.

Learning is recursive. Dare I say learning is a roguelike? It’s not about mastering a room, it’s about being willing to walk into the next one without fear. Trial and error isn’t just a means to an end—it’s the process.

Light helps, but learning is mapping the room in the dark. So get used to it.

Look, it takes a certain mindset to keep walking into the dark—and not see it as punishment or masochism.

Humility means saying, “I don’t know yet, but I will.” It’s trying, failing, learning, and being just stubborn enough to trudge on.

Git gud.

Or better yet, get So Good They Can't Ignore You and the world's your oyster. Cal Newport's book helped me better understand something I'd been practicing: mastery through deliberate effort. I don’t chase passion; I chase skills. And the more skills gained, the more passion tends to follow. Play the game. Seek deeper challenges. Earn autonomy by honing your skills.

This isn’t about grinding for its own sake. It’s about showing up with intention, getting a little better each time, and trusting that real satisfaction comes from the work itself—not just the results.

When I take on something deep or gnarly like Zig, I remind myself: the clumsy mistakes, the bad decisions—that is the process.

I'll provide an overview of what I've built so far in Zig next time.