GitHub Practice, Python Basics & the Confusion of Where to Start | Day2

When Knowing the Basics Still Feels Confusing

Welcome back to Day 2 of my Python learning series with me, Muskan Jain, on CosmosEdu.

Yesterday, I learned about the basics of Git and GitHub, but honestly, I didn’t fully grasp them. And I realized something important: until we practice things practically, we don’t truly learn them. Just reading or watching explanations is not enough.

So today, I decided to take a practical step. But to use Git and GitHub practically, I first needed something to push — and for that, I needed to write some code.

And this is exactly where the confusion started.

What Confused Me

Actually, I do know the basics of Python.

Back in my 2nd semester of BSc Physics Honours, I had watched a complete Python tutorial from the Apna College YouTube channel. At that time, I gained a lot of confidence. Everything felt clear, and I truly believed I knew Python.

But today, when I tried to start again, I realized that I had forgotten many basics.

This made me confused about where to start again.

Should I revise Python completely from basics?

Or should I directly start from a book like Numerical Python for Astrophysics and Astronomy?

This internal debate stayed in my mind for quite some time. Finally, after thinking a lot, I decided to start from the book. That decision gave me clarity — at least for some time 😅.

But honestly, that clarity didn’t last very long.

And yes… you’ll get the answer to this confusion inside this blog itself.

So keep reading.

What I Studied

Today, I worked on a very simple Python code:

calculating the velocity of the Earth revolving around the Sun.

The code itself was simple, and I was able to understand it properly. It also helped me revise concepts that I had already studied in my 2nd semester, which felt reassuring.

Along with that, I learned something new — string formatting in Python.

Some of you might not know what formatting is or why it is useful. I’ve explained this in more detail in my GitHub repository, where you can see how formatting improves clarity and output in code.

So today’s study was a mix of:

• revising old Python concepts
• applying physics concepts through code
• and learning a small but useful new programming idea

What I Learned

Through today’s experience, I realized something important.

Even though I revised Python basics using the book, I understood that this approach doesn’t work well for me right now. I don’t have enough time to revise every Python library or go deep into the language again.

I have an astronomy workshop coming up in just 23 days, and I need to prepare smartly, not perfectly.

So I did something different.

I asked ChatGPT a very honest question:

• Should I continue with the book?
• Or should I follow a different approach?
• Can you give me a clear roadmap to learn Python efficiently and start working on cosmology-related projects?

I clearly told it that I don’t want to go deep into every detail, but I do want:

• clarity
• direction
• and practical learning aligned with my goals

And yes — ChatGPT gave me a detailed roadmap, which I’ll be following from now on.

Where the Real Learning Actually Started

I thought the learning for today was over.

But actually… this is where it truly started.

I tried to push my work to GitHub, and I failed — badly.

Again and again, I faced errors while trying to add my repository. No matter what I tried, something went wrong. I ended up spending two full days just trying to understand how to push my code properly.

This was frustrating, confusing, and honestly exhausting.

But this struggle is important — and I’ll explain everything that went wrong in the next blog.

What’s Next?

In Day 3, I’ll share:

what errors I faced while using Git and GitHub

why pushing a repository failed again and again

and what I learned from this frustrating experience

Until then, stay tuned to my cosmic learning journey.

And as always —

Let’s decode the cosmos together. 🌌💻