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  • CPSC240 Imposter Syndrome

    1. Imposter Syndrome is a sense of self doubt an individual feels about their own achievements, causing anxiety, depression, low self esteem, burnout, etc.
      Source (NIH National Library of Medicine): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585058/#:~:text=Introduction,accomplishments%20among%20high-achieving%20individuals.
      Amount of people with imposter syndrome can vary widely depending who is studied, where they are in life, etc. but the general percentage is 9%-82%
      Source (Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology):
      https://www.mentalhealthjournal.org/articles/commentary-prevalence-predictors-and-treatment-of-imposter-syndrome-a-systematic-review.html
    2. I feel like I have definitely experienced imposter syndrome in my computer science learning. I would say one of the ways it is holding me back the most is not feeling like I have enough knowledge to try and look for jobs and/or internships, as I believe I have to be a “certain point” of knowledge to even consider applying. The problem stems from not exactly knowing where that point is, and thus can never reach it. Additionally, I sometimes feel behind my peers on occasion, some of my peers seem to not as struggle on topics as much as I may, so it brings doubt about my actual abilities.
    3. The given article summarizes what imposter syndrome is, what it can cause such as lack of career growth and dissatisfaction and how it may develop due to job competition, deadlines, and difficult problems. It notes signs of doubt that may be imposter syndrome, and suggests that one can have acceptance of their imposter syndrome, stop comparing yourself to others, reach out to other peers, and never give up. I think these suggestions are good but sometimes hard to follow up with, especially things such as comparing yourself to others. However, I do think one of the best suggestions is to reach out to other peers especially your seniors, as I feel that when discussing topics with them you’ll find that others may often have the same concerns that you may have.
    4. I think the previous question was getting at what I think helps me with imposter syndrome, which is simply talking and working with other people, and getting to see their perspectives. I feel like working with other people makes me feel less alone in my thoughts and helps learn topics that I haven’t previously considered.

  • CPSC240 Coding Conventions Assignment

    1. A coding convention is a set of guidelines/style with in the Computer Science industry that contains the best practices and rules for developing programs
    2. The benefits of adhering to a singular coding style is that it brings consistency and better readability to those accessing and interpreting the code.
    3. There is a benefit to coding according to these standards even when working alone, as it better prepares you to work in a further team environment (most computer science jobs), as well as ensure you don’t have to change your whole coding style when working on team projects.
    4. Possible downsides of coding conventions is that it might possibly limit innovation when it comes to certain coding styles, in name of more consistency (which is not necessarily bad in itself)
    5. I think the most surprising thing from the style guide is the block like array initializers, having never seen them formatted in any other way than just item1, item2, so on.
    6. I few ways I feel like I’ve been shaky on my style is a larger amount of white space, but also capitalization in names. Sometimes I will have a variable name ex. GPA be all caps rather than proper lower camel case.
    7. I don’t believe I would mind having to follow style guidelines, I usually format things to make sense in my mind, but I understand standard guidelines and believe them to be beneficial (Even if it can be difficult to properly remember everything).

  • CPSC240 Hello World! Assignment

    1. When did you first start programming?
      • I started programming in the second semester of my sophomore year, and after really enjoying my time in the class, decided to switch my major over to computer science (from Anthropology).
    2. What is your favourite thing about programming?
      • My favourite thing about programming is probably being able to think through a problem and figure out my own ways to create a solution. Being able to code helps me put that into practice and learn more along the way.
    3. What is your least favorite thing about programming?
      • My least favourite part about programming is having bugs in code that aren’t immediately obvious upon looking at them. A lot of times I will have to come back to my code in a day or so to figure out what the problem is, only for it to just be a single line missing or typo.