I remember playing Tetris. The usual scene was the board almost full, and me trying to rotate the pieces to see if something would fit. Spoiler: it didn’t. Game over.

Since then, I’ve always associated learning something new with that typical Tetris game. Various concepts and ideas scattered across a complex mental map, and me trying to make sense of the chaos.

But sometimes, luck would strike in Tetris. So we have the same scene. Full board and panic rising, until it happens. The missing piece. The one that aligns perfectly and clears the gaps, making the lines (and my frustration) disappear. Tetris clear! 🎉

And this analogy fits learning perfectly, especially when we are struggling to understand something. Sometimes, a single sentence is enough to make sense of a complex idea. And that’s exactly why I started writing online.

The Discomfort of Learning

Learning isn’t natural. Understanding something requires effort, and our reptilian brain hates spending energy. We prefer autopilot, but learning demands the opposite: think, rethink, and think again.

There are excellent resources to help our learning, and tons of material available to understand almost any topic. Books, courses, videos, and even rubber ducks can help clarify a complex subject.

So with all these resources, why do I add more pieces to the board? Because maybe a silly analogy I made, or a trivial comment I wrote, is exactly the missing piece for someone. If I help even one person, publishing the text is worth it.

And that one person can be me. Even with a wealth of material available out there, some concepts just don’t make sense. In my case, DNS authoritative servers. Even after reading blogs, watching videos, and consulting my favourite oracle (aka AI), the click didn’t happen. Gaps on my board.

Explaining to Myself

So there I was, studying DNS. I was following a course where the professor explained DNS brilliantly. I thought, “Wow, I understand everything, but…”. For some mysterious reason, the concept of authoritative servers just wouldn’t stick.

Resources weren’t the problem. I even read a DNS comic. Apparently, this was knowledge I just couldn’t acquire. Game over again. Defeated, I opened my notes in Obsidian and wrote down what I understood. But mostly, what I didn’t understand.

To the surprise of no one, writing helped me finally understand what an authoritative server is. Explaining it to myself forced me to organize my thoughts and fill the gaps in my understanding. In my mental Tetris, I created my own missing piece 🏆

Let’s Play?

This is my first post. The start of a new game. Each post, a checkpoint in my learning: if I can explain it, it means I understood it. With some luck, I can help someone along the way. And as a bonus, I have a saved note for future me, in case she forgets again how JavaScript coercion works.

And if you’re in the middle of a chaotic topic, don't panic. Often, time is the missing piece, and a concept might be hard because we still need to understand other foundational ideas first. Moving back a few steps is part of the process, and that’s okay.

Learning is a process full of pauses. But (eventually) full of wins too. And if you want to share your own journey, the comments are open. Maybe your story is the missing piece for someone 🧩

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From My Reading List 🗞️

Here are a few things that caught my attention this month:

• Write the damn code - honest take on the limits of using AI
• Why our website looks like an operating system - one of the best interfaces I’ve seen
• You Don’t Need Animations - excellent demonstration of when web animations get in the way
• Why we committed to a zero-bugs policy - loved Linear’s approach here
• No Pain, No Gain - not sure I agree with everything, but a brilliant lesson on hiring better to avoid firing
• Ambiphone - I’ve been using this a lot in my focus sessions

And now, the board is ready for the next game. Catch you in the next post (authoritative servers will show up eventually 😄)