At this point, you have probably dealt with several frustrations: installation problems, typos, and lots of new vocabulary. And maybe nothing you have done so far makes any sense. That is completely normal.

Aaron’s son Otto is six. Otto is baffled several times a day. He is constantly trying to absorb knowledge that does not fit into his existing mental scaffolding. Bafflement happens so frequently that it does not really bother him. He never stops to wonder, “Why is this so confusing? Should I throw this book away?”

As we get older, we are baffled much less often – not because we know everything, but because we tend to steer away from things that leave us bewildered. For example, reading a book on history can be quite pleasant because we get nuggets of knowledge that we can hang from our existing mental scaffolding. This is easy learning.

Learning a new language is an example of difficult learning. You know that there are millions of people who speak that language effortlessly, but it seems incredibly strange and awkward in your mouth. And when people speak it to you, you are often flummoxed.

Learning to program a computer is also difficult learning. You will be baffled from time to time – especially here at the beginning. This is fine. In fact, it is kind of cool. It is a little like being six again.

Stick with this book; we promise that the bewilderment will cease before you get to the final page.