A short, concise, uncomplicated, not hard, not long tutorial on how to code, anacdotally. Step 1, pretend you know what you’re doing. Okay, step 2…get a computer. Turn it on.

Okay now that we’re ready to do this programming thing:

3. Install python
4. open up one out of this set {bash,powershell,wsl,gitbash,terminal}
5. type in `python3`
6. if you installed python 2, delete it by running `sudo apt-get remove python2`/{only on linux}  then install python 3.

Okay now that we’re actually ready: what you just opened up was an interpreter, that will compile your code/input at run-time and spit out output at you on some console screen. I know it’s crazy but that’s not the most fun part.

The fun part is now you have to understand what a computer can do, and what it cannot do. This helps us limit to what beginners think is possible with simple code.

Well, a Turing machine cannot do anything that a calculator cannot do. In a classical sense, we only actually know one thing about reality fundamentally, and it starts with adding.

Adding two numbers together, as ancient as it goes, is something 3 year olds can do. Smart 3 year olds I should say.

3 + 4
7

I think that’s basic enough right? As we all know, decimal system is weak and unimpressive. 10 fingers, come on man.

001 + 001
010

Look how much cleaner that is. Hey, well you know calculators can’t do this.

60065

Wait a second…

this + is + a + bad + tutorial
thisisabadtutorial

Wow dude, manipulating words is so cool and impressive. No calculator can do that.

You know how sometimes you’re broke and your bank account is in overdraft and your parents sent money to you.

-39.00 + 50.01
11.01

Now I can go buy some Red Bull so I can code till 4 A.M