[Cycl0ps]

When it comes to learning something new, whether it's a technique, a programming language, or a hobby like reverse engineering, I'm talking about actual learning here, not just using AI to generate code and copy paste it...

Is AI actually helpful for learning? Or is reading the manual and documentation better? Or maybe both?

Like for example, when I want to learn a new programming language, do I just ask AI to explain things to me step by step? Or do I sit down and read the official docs from start to finish? And with something like reverse engineering, where documentation is often incomplete or outdated, does AI even help or does it just make things confusing?

I've been going back and forth on this. Sometimes AI explains things in a way that finally clicks, Documentation is more reliable but it can be boring and hard to get through, especially when you're just starting.

So what's the move here? Use AI as a teacher? Stick to docs? Mix both? And if both, how do you actually balance them without wasting time?

[Raijin]

In the past youtube channels and coding academies have been the most helpful to me.

[M1MON]

When it comes to learning something new, whether it's a technique, a programming language, or a hobby like reverse engineering, I'm talking about actual learning here, not just using AI to generate code and copy paste it...

Is AI actually helpful for learning? Or is reading the manual and documentation better? Or maybe both?

Like for example, when I want to learn a new programming language, do I just ask AI to explain things to me step by step? Or do I sit down and read the official docs from start to finish? And with something like reverse engineering, where documentation is often incomplete or outdated, does AI even help or does it just make things confusing?

I've been going back and forth on this. Sometimes AI explains things in a way that finally clicks, Documentation is more reliable but it can be boring and hard to get through, especially when you're just starting.

So what's the move here? Use AI as a teacher? Stick to docs? Mix both? And if both, how do you actually balance them without wasting time?

I think it depends on your goal. You gotta know the "why" you're even learning it. For example let's say you want to learn python but for what? what are you gonna do with it? what's your end goal. Once you got your answer, draw your end goal, and make a structured plan, let AI create an outline on how you're gonna reach that, then another one that's broken down in detailed. This is something based on my experience, I used to learn a lot just because I wanna learn it, but since I have no real purpose on why I'm even trying to learn it in the first place, eventually I would just forget all about it.

edit:
For your other worries, once you have everything to reach your end goal. Make it so that you do both, read, and hands-on. Use ai as much as you can for stuff that you find hard to understand, do it repeatedly until it would stick to your head. I only stop learning a specific topic until I can answer it on my own words, until it becomes so easy that just thinking about it I would instantly know the answer like 1+1. That's my measurement that I truly understood it.