The Power of Learning in Public: From Junior to R&D

The Fear of Ignorance

In school, we are conditioned to hide what we don't know. If the teacher asks a question, you only raise your hand if you have the Right Answer. Not knowing is shame.

In R&D (Research & Development), this mindset is fatal.

If we knew the answer, it wouldn't be Research. It would just be Development. My job as an R&D Engineer is literally *"To not know, and then find out."*

If I am not confused for at least 4 hours a day, I am probably not working on something hard enough.

The 'Garden' Metaphor

I treat my knowledge like a public garden, not a private vault.

Most developers hide their struggle. They only post the finished result: "Look at this amazing 3D app I built!" They don't show the 3 weeks of broken shaders and black screens.

When I struggle with a new library (say, Three.js), I don't hide the struggle. I document it. - "Day 1: I tried to render a cube. The screen is black. I am confused. Tried changing the camera position." - "Day 2: Found out I forgot the camera light. Cube is now visible but ugly." - "Day 3: Added textures. It looks amazing."

The Luck Surface Area

Why share the failures? Because it increases your Luck Surface Area.

When I posted about my "Black Screen" error on Twitter/X, a Senior Graphics Engineer from a gaming company replied: *"Hey Ruth, try using this helper function instead. It handles the lighting defaults."*

BAM. Free mentorship.

If I had kept my struggle private, I would have spent 3 days debugging. Because I learned in public, I solved it in 3 hours. People want to help those who are trying.

How to Start (The TIL Method)

You don't need a polished blog. You don't need to be an expert. In fact, being a beginner is an advantage because you can explain things simply.

1. Write 'Today I Learned' (TIL) posts. Short, 1-paragraph notes. "Today I learned that `display: flex` behaves differently in Safari." 2. Share messy prototypes. People love seeing the 'Work in Progress'. It feels authentic. It shows the craft. 3. Ask 'stupid' questions. The smartest people I know ask the simplest questions. "Why do we do it this way?" often reveals that nobody actually knows.

Don't wait until you are an 'Expert'. Experts are just people who failed enough times in public and took notes.