Shoutout to the rubber duck method, but does it actually teach you or just waste time?

Ngl, I spent 3 hours trying to debug a loop in Python last week and explaining it to my roommate's cat finally made me see the missing variable, but is talking to an object really a solid learning trick for beginners or just a crutch that stops you from thinking on your own?

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davis.mia18d ago

Wait, have you ever actually tried the rubber duck method with something you already know cold, like explaining how to make toast or how to do a load of laundry out loud to yourself? It's totally different. When you know the subject, the gaps show up instantly, but when you're learning something new, your brain fills in all the blanks with stuff you assume is obvious. That's the trick nobody talks about. The duck only works if you force yourself to slow down and say every single step out loud, including the boring ones. If you just mumble at a duck while staring at the same line of code, it's a waste of time. It's not a crutch, it's a speed bump for your own lazy thinking. Same reason people teach stuff to beginners to learn it better themselves.