Ask HN: Do you have to read a lot as a programmer?
Not just code, I mean a lot of text in English. Can you rely mostly on videos, if you have a hard time reading, and minimize reading to small amount of text?
A handy trick is to make small diagrams of your readings - it can be as simple as writing a timing diagram of calls while reading documentation. This kinds of expands on what one reads - I found them really useful. Also, first search in google images - eg: you want to understand "angular architecture" - usually first few of images will be very relevant to grasp things in a abstract way. By doing this first you get component names and how they are connected (by seeing the image) then you read documentation - you kind of know what documentation is trying to tell now.
Understanding meaning of words are important if you are non-native speakers. Say there is a word you have never come across eg: convolution neural networks. One needs to know 'convolution' means then 'neural networks' before going any further.
So the key takeaway I feel is how quickly can one abstract new concepts or relate them to what is known or build new models of understanding.
As far as having a hard time reading, could you be more specific? I'm a very slow reader myself (can listen to an audiobook faster than I can read the same book) and it's not something that's ever worried me professionally.
I read slow, like you mentioned, and have lack of confidence in my ability to read.
* irc chat * slack chat * email * wiki with shared information * issues * specification documents
My greatest achievement past three months was not a piece of code but a 2700 word document describing our new testing process.