My 8-year-old niece just explained debugging to me and it was weirdly perfect

I was stuck on a Python script for like two hours, trying to find a missing bracket. My niece was watching and said, 'It's like when I lose my favorite crayon. You don't look at the whole box, you just check the couch, then under the table, one spot at a time.' I mean, she's right. I was staring at the whole screen instead of checking each line. I started using print statements on single lines, and found the bug in 10 minutes. Has anyone else had a super simple idea from a non-coder totally fix your approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylorc501mo ago

Honestly, I used to think you needed some big plan, but that kid's totally right.

ryanj601mo ago

Wait, she's only eight and she figured that out? That's wild.

elizabeth_jackson1mo ago

My niece is eight and she can't even find her shoes in the morning. This kid is out here solving puzzles I'd need a manual for. Makes you wonder what they're putting in the juice boxes these days.