Similarity Between Learning and Building a House

It is a bit cold to compare anything related with human processes, as they are always more complicated than we could ever imagine and as unique as it can get, but, sorry, I will be comparing the process of learning with the one of building a house.

(DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional house builder)

But I think this metaphor holds up surprisingly well. Whether you’re learning a new programming language, picking up a musical instrument, or diving into a new domain at work, the process follows similar patterns to construction. Let’s explore the five phases.

1. Preparing the Ground

Do you want to build a house? You gotta create space for it. Even though it is said that knowledge takes up no space, you still need to create the space to learn.

Each person has their way of doing this, probably one of the few things we have in common is that all of us require time and a safe space.

When it comes to time, really any amount is usually a good start, but the more time you get the faster you would be able to advance. You don’t need 4-hour blocks - even 20 minutes a day, consistently applied, can build something substantial over time.

About safe space, for me it is a space where I can safely fail, experiment and let my mind be open for curiosity. This might be:

• A side project where no one’s judging your code
• A practice environment where mistakes don’t cost money
• A learning group where everyone’s a beginner
• Simply your own mind, free from the pressure to be perfect immediately

I won’t spend too much time talking about this phase, but believe me, without this, your house will be at risk at some point. Or you will have to build around trees and rocks - constantly working around obstacles that could have been cleared from the start.

2. Pouring the Foundation

Alright, the terrain is clean and we are ready to start building a house. The next step is to actually pour a foundation. The foundation is one of the most costly parts of building a house, both in time and material.

The important part is that, depending on what house you want to build, all the factors will vary: size, ground type, depth, materials… And here comes the most difficult part and the origin of all origins while learning: What do you want to learn?

And here is the challenge: What should be my foundation if I still don’t know what I am going to learn, or I am not sure about what I want to learn?

There is no right answer. Optimizing for the unknown secret is to stay as generalistic as possible, but that will also come with some drawbacks, for example when you try to deepen your knowledge.

Sometimes we need to rush the foundations to get somewhere as fast as possible - for example, getting an employment - hence it is a bit more clear where we think we should aim with our foundations. I said “think” because I believe it is difficult to aim somewhere when we are just beginning at something. Most of times your mind will bend that direction as you start building things.

But that’s why the head is spherical, so that thoughts can change directions freely.

Examples of Foundations

Learning web development:

• Foundation: HTML, CSS, JavaScript basics, how the internet works, basic programming concepts

Learning piano:

• Foundation: Music theory, reading notes, finger positioning, rhythm, understanding scales

Learning system design:

• Foundation: Networking basics, databases fundamentals, understanding scale, common patterns

The foundation determines what you can build later. A weak foundation in programming fundamentals will haunt you when you try to learn advanced concepts. But you also don’t need a perfect foundation to start building - you can reinforce it later.

3. Structure and Framing

Cool, we did all the foundation and with that probably the most tedious part (at least for me, the exercise of discovering what is the foundation of what I want to achieve is a complex task). Now let’s start giving shape to the rooms and spaces we are gonna have.

During the framing, usually we will move from an abstraction - a blueprint or a sketch of the rooms - to actually the skeleton of the different areas that will shape our home and how they are interconnected.

We will move similarly when learning. We will start learning some abstractions or basic concepts and we can start creating a relationship between them. The word “framing” and “framework” are closely related (at least lexically), and using frameworks (understood as the ideas, information, and principles that form the structure… not as in Technology Frameworks) for learning will make the framing much easier.

Teachers often help students go through concepts and establishing frameworks for what they need to learn.

What Framing Looks Like

This is when you start seeing how things connect:

• “Oh, functions in programming are like mathematical functions”
• “This design pattern solves the same problem as that other one, just differently”
• “These three concepts all relate to memory management”
• “This musical technique appears in both jazz and classical”

You’re not just learning isolated facts anymore - you’re understanding the structure of the knowledge. You’re seeing the rooms of your house and how they connect to each other.

This is often the most exciting phase of learning because things start to “click.” The abstractions become concrete. The puzzle pieces start fitting together.

4. Adding Basic Items

Yes, while now you have the space you need to supply it with the right items: insulation, walls, electricity, pipes, sewers, vents…

When learning, this can be abstracted as moving these abstractions into something that can be applied. Once the framing is done, usually it is easy - you only need to find the right use cases and make sure your knowledge is useful when we need to apply it. In the same way a room should be useful when someone gets into it.

This is the “practice” phase.

You know the theory, you understand the structure, now you need to make it functional:

• Write actual code, not just read about it
• Play actual songs, not just scales
• Design actual systems, not just study diagrams
• Have actual conversations in that language you’re learning

A house without plumbing and electricity isn’t really livable. Knowledge without application isn’t really useful. This phase is about making your learning practical and functional.

The Practice Pattern

A useful pattern for this phase:

1. Learn a concept (framing)
2. Find a simple use case
3. Apply it
4. Find a more complex use case
5. Apply it again
6. Reflect on what you learned from both applications
7. Repeat

Each application reinforces the framework and adds another “basic item” to your house of knowledge.

5. Making it YOUR Place

Whilst all the process can be enjoyed, I think that is this last mile the one that I tend to enjoy the most - it is in the end achieving what we were looking for with the knowledge.

Do you know the feeling of living in a place but never putting the effort to make it a home?

Please, do invest time to play with your knowledge:

• Adding details to it
• Gaining confidence
• Building things with it
• Mixing it with other topics to make it rich
• Adapting it to what you want to make out of it

This is when your learning becomes yours. Not just repeating what the textbook said or copying what the tutorial showed. You start:

• Finding your own patterns and approaches
• Connecting it with your other knowledge in unique ways
• Teaching it to others in your own words
• Creating something original with it
• Developing your own style

This is the difference between:

• A programmer who can code vs. a programmer with a distinct problem-solving style
• Someone who can play piano vs. a pianist with their own interpretation
• Someone who knows design patterns vs. an architect who knows when to break them

Making it your own is when learning transforms into mastery.

Putting It All Together

So that’s it, we now know more or less what are the guidelines we can follow when we want to build knowledge from the ground up.

But remember: just like building a house, you don’t always follow these steps perfectly in order. Sometimes you realize you need to reinforce the foundation while you’re framing. Sometimes you add utilities before the framing is complete. Sometimes you start decorating one room while another is still being framed.

The metaphor isn’t perfect (no metaphor is), but it provides a useful framework for thinking about your learning journey:

1. Prepare the ground - Create time and a safe space to learn
2. Pour the foundation - Understand the basics, even if you’re not sure where you’re heading
3. Frame the structure - Connect concepts, see the big picture
4. Add basic items - Apply what you learned, make it functional
5. Make it yours - Personalize, experiment, create

And just like a house, learning is never truly “done.” You can always add an extension, renovate a room, or upgrade the plumbing. The beautiful thing about knowledge is that additions are free and unlimited.

Now go build something. And don’t forget to enjoy the process - after all, you’ll be living in this house for the rest of your life.

PS: Eat your veggies 🌱