The Trees Don't "help" Each Other. They Don't "decide" To Let The Fungus In. All They Know Is That When

ungfio on Instagram

Paleontologist: I became a paleontologist because dinosaurs are cool

Astronomer: I became an astronomer because space is cool

Chemist: I became a chemist because explosions are cool

Archeologist: I became an archeologist because Indiana Jones is cool

Mycologist: I. Fucking. LOVE. Mushrooms.

Paleontologist: Uh…

Mycologist: IWillLiterallyMurderYouJustSoICanWatchFungiBreakDownYourDecayingRemainsDon’tTestMeBoneBoy

As an autistic person, talking to programmers is so nice. They know how to be direct, literal and specific. If you know how to communicate with a computer you will probably communicate well with me as well.

same

as an aroace, im particularly dangerous, because i wont fuck or marry. i only know how to kill.

after almost a month and a lot of procrastination, I am happy to finally present: The CSGNF Intro to Programming Manifesto!!!!

PART ONE: SO YOU WANT TO LEARN TO CODE

When discussing learning how to code in general, I think it helps to think of an analogy where writing code is way more like building a car engine than it is writing an essay. When you write a program, especially more sophisticated ones, you’re putting together a lot of individually working parts that either you make yourself (such as functions) or the language provides for you. Debugging is the same way: you can slam out an essay and then look at it later and use the end product to figure out what you need to edit, but if you build a car without testing any of the parts first and it doesn’t turn on you have no idea what part of the engine is giving you trouble. 

One of the biggest “tips” I have is to start with the basics and build fundamental knowledge before jumping straight to big projects! A lot of material online follows the model of “become a software engineer in a week” and starts at a really high level—you’ll have a much easier time long term if you start with computing and coding basics rather than “how to code a first person shooter with no experience.” I really liked TheNewBoston’s introduction to networking series. While networking is very different from programming, they build off of the same fundamental computing concepts, and they also have series on specific languages and frameworks as well. 

Some of those videos are from as early as 2012, which seems like it would be outdated, but while frameworks and some new technologies change, the basic concepts of computer science have stayed the same for like 50 years. The languages I’ve done the most work in (C++ and Python) were first released in 1985 and 1989 respectively! They’ve gone through lots of updates since then but the basic concepts are all still there. 

Another tip I have is to pick an end goal and then learn the programming language that will help you program that project in the end! Once you learn one language it’s pretty easy to pick up other ones, because the concepts of programming translate across all of the major languages. for example, I started learning to code with C++ (about 5ish years ago), and have since done work in C, C#, Python, Java, JavaScript, and some other front end & database technologies. With our car engine analogy, think of like building a Toyota engine vs building a Subaru engine. They probably come together in different ways and utilize different parts, but the basic pieces and patterns are going to translate between the two. 

All that is to say: just choose a language based on what the thing you want to code is! A quick google search can usually give you a good idea of the best one for your project. Do you want your end project to be a Minecraft plug-in or mod? learn Java! Do you want to make a website to talk about how much you love your favorite twitch streamer? Learn HTML! Do you want to write a game in unity? Learn C#!

PART TWO: WHERE DO I LEARN TO CODE?

SPACE KITTY!!!

Void cat but space, with moon for eyes~

Illustrating some literal mushroom names in anticipation of baby's first convention season (as an independent artist)

Here's 1 out of 3 - Chicken of the Woods!

Come see me at VanCAF in May if you like chickens and/or mushrooms. I'll have stickers and postcards and other art toooo

indeed

FUNGI HAVE CLOSER DNA TO HUMANS THAN TO PLANTS AND MUSHROOMS ARE ACTUALLY THE FRUITING BODIES OF MASSIVE SUBTERRANEAN SYSTEMS OF FUNGI THAT ARE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD AND MILES WIDE. THE LARGEST LIVING ORGANISM ON OUR PLANET IS A 3.5 MILE LONG 10,000 YEAR OLD FUNGI WHICH CONNECTS THE WHOLE FOREST AND HELPS EVERY PLANT COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER.

THE CLOSEST THING WE HAVE TO AN ALMIGHTY IS FUNGI.