Name: The Common Misconception With Help
Uploaded: 2024-03-18T17:51:56+00:00
Duration: 9 min 3 s
Description: When you're new, there's an overwhelming amount of information to absorb

The Common Misconception With Help

When you're new, there's an overwhelming amount of information to absorb. You should plan to ask many, many questions, which means it's important to have the right framing of that interaction.

Obligatory Confucious quote:

> The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life

Myth #1:

- **Myth**: Asking for help is a sign of weakness ❌
- **Reality**: You’re expected to ask questions to gain knowledge and foster interaction ✅

Myth #2: 

- **Myth**: Everyone knows so much more than me, I’ll waste their time ❌
- **Reality**: Each person’s knowledge is incomplete ✅

Instead of thinking that building expertise in something is difficult or impossible, realize that **you can become more knowledgeable than anyone** as long as you narrow the scope appropriately. (e.g. "In one afternoon, I can go understand more about the flags to configure **git log** compared to anyone on my team of 10 people.")

When you're new, there's an overwhelming amount of information to absorb

Few understand that this act is a skill to master in and of itself. When you take the time to ask truly great questions, you get answers faster while making others respect you more.

This collection represents the best of what Taro has to offer, personally curated by Alex and Rahul. If you're short on time, go through the content here.

With how often software engineers change teams, it's crucial to be efficient at this. Learn how to get coding within a new codebase fast, build the proper relationships, and hit the ground running in general.