Looking across the waters into the horizon

Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:42 PM ( updated 5 mo. 2 days ago )

Chapter 1 - Vision

When starting anything new, it’s probably worth asking the basic question:

“What’s the point of this?” - Me

Reason 1

As a huge fan of READMEs that explain why those out there create the projects that they do, especially in light of and (for the truly diligent) in comparison to any existing alternatives available, I believe it key to verbalize the vision for this site learnhow.dev.

Doing this is especially true in my case in which the interwebs are already tangled with a plethora of not only great resources for learning web dev, but FREE resources at that.

Two logical downsides to this:

However, there is another more pressing issue to it all. They lack mentorship.

It, of course, makes sense for a lot of the content. Time equals money and free is…well less than that. How can one person invest in thousands of subscribers…and keep their day job.

Yet, such endeavors cannot be that simplistically reduced.

I believe there is value returned to the teacher in teaching. It’s not a one-sided process.

“The process is mutual; for men learn while they teach.” - Seneca, Letters to Lucilius (Book I, letter 7, section 8)

And I am not alone; it seems the idea has been circulating for some time and thus is one of my primary reasons for doing this. The student and the mentor will sharpen each other.

Reason 2

The next reason is simply that I enjoy it. And many others over the years have told me that I have a knack for understanding what others are trying to ask (regardless of what they actually say) and explaining things back to them in ways they can understand.

Reason 3

Another reason, small but worth including is that this will hopefully also become an outlet for an internal project FrontierJS and the parent company Knightworks. But we’ll see where all this goes…

Reason 4

The last reason, but maybe the most distinct/ambitious, is to provide a path to become the “self-sustaining full-stack developer”. There’s a long road aheadfor anyone daring to go down that path.

Most instructors out there will not think twice about using the major Tech giants and the services they provide. If you want to get a job there (or anywhere), then it of course makes sense. I am seeking to teach a path of independence from all that. This won’t be the site for the one who wants to go work at Google, Facebook or Amazon. Or even at that big tech company downtown, because they use all their services. It is for the one that loves FOSS, who wants to de-googlify his life, who doesn’t have money as the end of the road.

This is the path for the one who wants to stay off the grid as much as possible; who wants to learn how the gears turn under the hood; who wants to go on an adventure and get their hands dirty. In this sense, this path is very opinionated. It is what gives this site its uniqueness against others. Its special value.

It will focus on a single set of tools to suit most jobs and provide a foundation under the belt onto which you can specialize. Once mastered, it shouldn’t be hard to pivot or translate those skills over to the constantly expanding options out in the wild.

That said, it will not be for everyone. It is for those who have a Company of One mentality. If you’re ready, dive in.

In Summary

Coming up next: Chapter 2 - Plan of Action