[Haskell-beginners] LYAHFGG, chapter 11 question

[Jeff C. Britton]

I had originally encountered problems at this point myself.  I lost motivation because I had just had this feeling that programming with applicatives was just not going to be fun, and it was beginning to seem like Haskell programming might involve a lot of this.  I put the book down for about 1 year.  Somewhere I came across an article on Monads that changed my mind.  I started over and am now almost done with Chapter 13.  This time around things are looking a lot cooler.  I think chapters 11,12, and 13 may lack the motivational information to keep one going.  I can say that the author Miran Lipovaca really does a great job of explaining this material.  I don't think you are going to find a better source.  Absolutely every step of the way is laid out in painstaking detail.  Plus there are constant reminders of material that was just covered that is relevant to the immediate situation.  All I can say is go slow and make sure you understand every detail before proceeding.  Keep at it regularly so as not to forget important terms.  Go back and reread if necessary.  Have the confidence that it will be worthwhile.  The Monad chapters are little bit more interesting, but you will need to understand the applicatives first.  I learned a new word today, "Sisyphean."

From: Beginners [mailto:beginners-bounces at haskell.org] On Behalf Of Frank
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2014 7:33 PM
To: The Haskell-Beginners Mailing List - Discussion of primarily beginner-level topics related to Haskell
Subject: [Haskell-beginners] LYAHFGG, chapter 11 question

About "Learn You a Haskell ...", is it My imagination or is chapter 11 absurdly long and/or thick? I can (and have) read a 100+ page U.S. Supreme Court ruling, readily understand it, and be able to explain it in plain English, with next to zero trouble. I spend every work day reading, parsing, interpreting, and using, the ISO C++ standard. I taught My undergraduate Physics IV class while simultaneously taking it. Yet, chapter 11 feels as if it goes on and on to the point I easily forget what I read just a few lines before, rendering comprehension of the same an almost Sisyphean task. Is it just Me? Am I just tired? Is there an alternative resource for understanding the concepts that particular chapter presents?

Sincerely,
Frank D. Martinez

--
P.S.: I prefer to be reached on BitMessage at BM-2D8txNiU7b84d2tgqvJQdgBog6A69oDAx6
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