Railscasts didn't exist when I first started using Rails in the fall of 2005 - they are an invaluable resource and just one of many the author points out.
For someone who has not used Ruby before, it will likely take years to go from 0 to Ruby/Rails "Zen Master". The Ruby language seems simple at first but there are many nuances and powerful methods (such as #inject and #map) that few will master right away.
Also with regards to Rails, there are a lot of "moving parts". Randomly picking something out of the API and expecting to understand it, outside of its context etc., is not the right way to go about this.
Having been learning and working with Rails for several years now, I can tell you that there is must more excellent content now than ever before. And there will soon be plenty of Rails 3 specific books available too.
For someone who has not used Ruby before, it will likely take years to go from 0 to Ruby/Rails "Zen Master". The Ruby language seems simple at first but there are many nuances and powerful methods (such as #inject and #map) that few will master right away.
Also with regards to Rails, there are a lot of "moving parts". Randomly picking something out of the API and expecting to understand it, outside of its context etc., is not the right way to go about this.
Having been learning and working with Rails for several years now, I can tell you that there is must more excellent content now than ever before. And there will soon be plenty of Rails 3 specific books available too.