I believe that to learn a new technology, you need both a conceptual overview and examples of the technology used in a larger context. Conceptual information is critical to your general understanding of the technological principles at work, but to be truly successful at applying a new technology, you must also see it at work in a real-world solution and not just in conveniently packaged demonstrations that exist in a vacuum. Only then can you see how the technology interacts with related technologies and how to overcome the sometimes confusing quirks that all technologies have.
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