To understand a culture, you must first understand it’s language.
Most Americans initially don’t like Paris, and the reason is most Americans don’t speak French.
Learning the French language is the entry point to understanding the French culture, and – in the case of Paris – with understanding first comes fondness and then, if you are lucky, love.
Put another way, the time spent understanding French vocabulary, French pronunciation, and French grammar, is the price of admission to becoming part of Paris and it’s culture rather than just being a tourist.
My interest in learning Python is quite similar.
Most physicians are tourists when it comes to computer science and the new computer technologies, and this manifests as a large gap between the clinical side of the business and the IT side of the business.
Part of this gap is driven culturally; by language.
10 or 15 years ago perhaps this didn’t matter. However with different technologies driven by advances in computer science ranging from electronic health records, big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, it is becoming critical to bridge this gap.
In my case, having been a doctor for 25 years, I have a foot well-placed in the culture of medicine.
However, despite my prior experience as an engineer and advanced training in physics, my footing is not as firm in the land of computer science and computer technology.
My intent is that by learning the high level computer language Python, I will reintroduce myself to the culture of computer science and computer technology.
Then, with feet placed firmly in both the clinical side of medicine and the technical side of computer science, my hope is that I will be better able to draw these cultures together to seek out new ideas, and new approach to business as usual.
It should be a fun journey.