Any books or other resources you recommend to learn these things? On learning to learn I have enjoyed A Mind for Numbers[1] by Barbra Oakley with Coursera course[2], Make it Stick[3] by Peter C. Brown, and How We Learn[4] by Benedict Carey.

1. https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Numbers-Science-Flunked-Algebra/...

2. https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn/

3. https://www.amazon.com/Make-Stick-Science-Successful-Learnin...

4. https://www.amazon.com/How-We-Learn-Surprising-Happens-ebook...

I think most people are in the same boat as you in terms of learning. I think "bluffing your way" through classes or interviews only sets one up for failure later. Learning the basics might be boring but one will find trouble getting to the fun stuff without a strong foundation in the concept.

You would really like the course, "Learning How to Learn" on Coursera [0]. The instructor wrote the book, "Mind for Numbers" [1] which is also great.

The course and book teach a great framework for actually learning and comprehension.

[0] https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn

[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/039916524X/

Can highly recommend the book the Coursera course is based on [1]: A mind for numbers [2]. Have read it multiple times back to from and front to back.

[1]- https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Numbers-Science-Flunked-Algebra/...

Note that this is also available in book form, if you rather read about it:

https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Numbers-Science-Flunked-Algebra/...

It's difficult for me to put a finger on it, and that's exactly why I stoop to using words that signify subjective feelings like "cliche" or worse yet, "passe".

The long story would be that it doesn't actually teach you how to grok things (like Barb Oakley's "A Mind for Numbers" https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Numbers-Science-Flunked-Algebra/... and the related Coursera "Learning how to learn").

If I am taught metacognitive skills, I can pick up new ways of thinking, and heck, even create them.

On the other hand, if I rabbits are just pulled out of hats in front of my eyes, with said rabbits being sexually appealing with some buzzwords, then it all comes off like this: "hey fellow kids[I highly recommend https://www.reddit.com/r/FellowKids/top/?sort=top&t=all], check out this cutting edge new algorithm called Eratosthenes' Sieve, presented by Big Data specialist Google; also, did I already say big data? Maybe I should say deep learning too then! Oh yeah, all the buzzwords! Over 9000 of them!", my eyes glaze over...

I know this is going to be great for those one or two random kids in my class who seem to get it "right away" (i.e. have seen it before), while I am probably just going to feel dumb: "Hey mister, how can I too pull out rabbits from hats?", and their only answer for me will be "Well, it's easy! Let me pull out another rabbit from a hat, and you'll totally get it!". A few tries later, they'll just be disappointed with me and then we'll all realize that I am not the next Tony Stark, and I definitely won't be getting a job at Google.

EDIT: thinking about it a bit further (especially by considering why I got a "hey fellow kids!" vibe from it), I now come to realize that I had warning bells ringing in my head that this is basically a way for Google to raise brand awareness amongst youth, which is especially off-putting because of how easy it is to see-through, since no effort is made to hide it:

"Our videos illustrate real-world examples of the application of computational thinking in Google’s products and services..."