João Gilberto Saraiva

software engineer | professor | writer


Five attitudes for the learner | João Gilberto Saraiva

Five attitudes for the learner

25-06-2025

I just completed my first month as a software developer at JetRockets, a really cool place. It’s been thirty days of connecting with people from different countries, understanding how things work, studying new topics, business rules, and tackling my first tasks and features. Since day one, I’ve been reflecting on my experiences over the past few years regarding starting in a new place and how to learn effectively

It’s not uncommon, while idly staring into space with a cup of coffee in hand, to find ourselves reflecting on an idea, attitude, or piece of information that would have made all the difference if only we’d known it sooner. “It would have been great to understand that back then…” “If only I’d been like this ten years ago…” The endless “what ifs” that haunt us now and then, or always. Examining this through the microscope of reason reveals that who we are and what we know today is precisely the result of the challenges we’ve overcome. There’s no way we could possess this knowledge and these perspectives without the experiences that forged them. It’s even comforting to think this way, but there’s no bulletproof vest for that sudden urge to go back in time with the perfect attitude or comeback on the tip of our tongue. The past is a living thing; you can’t simply archive it in a forgotten folder on your memory drive. No AI or organic intelligence exists without continuously processing its own repository of information.

I found myself pondering this when, in the same week, two young individuals asked me about the skills and knowledge needed to embark on a journey of learning and work. The first, a former elementary school student of mine, is starting a History degree. The second is a programming student eager to take their first steps into the job market. I wondered what useful advice I could offer to a teenage João Gilberto learning to play musical instruments, and to the same individual as he was about to enter university and his first job. Also, to the postgraduate professor writing his first lines of code. I combined these thoughts with my experience of learning and teaching various subjects and synthesized a few key points:

  1. Cultivate genuine curiosity: learning becomes a true torment if we’re not genuinely interested in the topic or can’t even grasp the point of studying it. Of course, not every subject will be a deep passion that profoundly excites us. Still, the bricks of disinterest and the cement of laziness often form an insurmountable wall.

  2. Be coachable (or mentor-friendly): being open to learning from diverse people and in various contexts is crucial. Far beyond the formal classroom setting, life is rich with situations where we can absorb knowledge. Being open to this, with ears and ego prepared, is a small price to pay for the significant gains you can achieve.

  3. Know how to ask questions: questions drive humanity forward. It’s a cliché, but a true one, as evidenced by the success of internet search engines – the largest one processes around 3.5 billion queries daily. Knowing how to ask means contextualizing your query, defining the scope of what you want to know, and genuinely considering the responses before launching a new question. This applies whether you’re questioning a classmate, a forum, or even a generative AI.

  4. learn how to learn: there isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula through which everyone effectively learns a particular subject. What does exist are various learning strategies, some more or less effective depending on the context. In another post, I explored this very aspect, from choosing the right materials to understanding your optimal learning style. It’s worth reflecting on past experiences: when did you successfully learn something, and when did it go wrong? And most importantly, why?

  5. Practice: the other day, while discussing the importance of practice in learning, I recalled a saying I believe is of Dutch origin: “There has never been, nor will there ever be, a good book on how to ride a bicycle.” The point isn’t to diminish books — anyone who knows me understands my love for them — but rather to underscore the importance of constant practice. Theory is dead letter if it doesn’t ground action. Good musicians helped me realize that to truly learn, the best approach is to calmly start with simple exercises and gradually increase speed and complexity. There’s a virtuous cycle of encountering knowledge (whether by reading, watching, listening, etc.), attempting to do it (through exercises, personal projects, conversations, etc.), and repeating this process while adjusting your strategies at each step.

Here is the Portuguese version of this post.

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Image: “High five”, Martin Fisch. From: Open Verse, Creative Commons 2.0