Video Tutorials vs Documentation - Why You're Learning Wrong

Spent 6 hours watching tutorials but can't build without them? You're not alone—you're just learning backwards.

The Tutorial Trap

Video tutorials feel productive. You watch someone code, you follow along, everything works. Dopamine hit. You feel like you're learning.

Then you open a blank file and... nothing.

Why Videos Fail You

The illusion of competence:

• Watching ≠ Understanding
• Following ≠ Problem-solving
• Copying ≠ Creating

You're outsourcing the hard part—thinking—to the instructor.

When Documentation Wins

Reading docs forces you to:

• Fill in the gaps yourself
• Struggle (where real learning happens)
• Build mental models, not muscle memory

The retention difference:

• Video tutorial: 10% retention after 1 week
• Documentation + experimentation: 70% retention

The Hybrid Approach That Actually Works

Use videos for:

• Conceptual overviews
• Seeing workflows in action
• Initial exposure to new tech

Use docs for:

• Understanding core concepts deeply
• Reference during building
• Debugging and edge cases

My System

1. Watch one tutorial (overview only, don't code along)
2. Read official docs (boring but essential)
3. Build something small without looking
4. Get stuck, search docs (this is where learning happens)
5. Repeat steps 3-4

The Uncomfortable Truth

If you need a tutorial to rebuild something, you didn't learn it—you borrowed knowledge.

Real learning happens when you get stuck and figure it out. Docs teach you to fish. Tutorials give you fish.

Stop collecting tutorial certificates. Start building broken things and fixing them.