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Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

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Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#211

Post by peacemaker »

saltcured wrote: post #179
jimmaswell wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can appreciate that it might be like that for some, but absolutely not for me. Deeper mathematics is meaningful to me for its beauty and the way it feels like arriving at some fundamental truth, for whatever value that can exist. Similar for deeper physics, it's very appealing to me to try to understand the world on some fundamental level, as much as we're capable. And I find it very satisfying solving a good math…

If you were standing at the entrance of a grand amusement park, would you feel despair that you have to choose which ride to take or excitement at having options? If the park were fantastically more grand, so you have no hope of sampling every amusement, does this somehow change your response? Your emotional valence here is your choice, not something intrinsic to the setting. That is what those cognitive behavioral t…

This is incredibly well written, how did you learn to write like that? As for the concepts you describe, how did you learn about them?

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#212

Post by pfkurtz »

nudpiedo wrote: post #206
pfkurtz wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What the heck are you even talking about? I gotta say, Hacker News is probably one of the least welcoming communities on the internet.

Try to leave a book open on the kitchen a couple of weeks, and another on the bathroom/shower. Then come back and post. And if you happen to not live alone, the same. IF the book is large enough/hard cover to remain open by the page you were reading. Basically I am calling BS for what it is.

Those are not places I suggested leaving books, because I'm not stupid. I suggested: by the toilet. So you can learn something every time you poop. Then there's these other things called shelves... I own a few.

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#213

Post by pfkurtz »

mattlondon wrote: post #197
pfkurtz wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What the heck are you even talking about? I gotta say, Hacker News is probably one of the least welcoming communities on the internet.

It is welcoming, but it may also challenge your ideas and beliefs. For that I value it.

The people who are unwelcoming on HN and the people who post interesting/challenging responses... do not seem to overlap.

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#214

Post by ryanwaggoner »

saltcured wrote: post #179
jimmaswell wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can appreciate that it might be like that for some, but absolutely not for me. Deeper mathematics is meaningful to me for its beauty and the way it feels like arriving at some fundamental truth, for whatever value that can exist. Similar for deeper physics, it's very appealing to me to try to understand the world on some fundamental level, as much as we're capable. And I find it very satisfying solving a good math…

If you were standing at the entrance of a grand amusement park, would you feel despair that you have to choose which ride to take or excitement at having options? If the park were fantastically more grand, so you have no hope of sampling every amusement, does this somehow change your response? Your emotional valence here is your choice, not something intrinsic to the setting. That is what those cognitive behavioral t…

This is essentially the message of “4000 Weeks” by Oliver Burkeman

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#216

Post by chillpenguin »

musha68k wrote: post #153
chillpenguin wrote: post #134

I would say you should work on things that will have a bigger impact. Some things might be fun/interesting but the impact will be extremely low (or none at all). Another tip is to vigilantly avoid time wasting traps like instagram, facebook, video games, pointless youtube videos, etc. This will give you a LOT more time to pursue other things. But yeah, this is a tough burden for us to bear. I mean, it is literally th…

I bet computer and video games are an extra hard trap to uncover for many (in here). For me personally they often have been and still are a much needed way to escape plus a conduit to a multitude of other interests and my professional career (not directly related). OTOH and more often than I would like to admit these days its meaningless, consumerist time wasting at best and an addiction at worst. Taking away from ot…

I feel you. My interest in video games is what led me to getting into computers and becoming the software developer I am today. But the fact is, as you said, it takes away from other things including relationships. In low doses is probably fine, but the risk is that you are kidding yourself about how much time you actually spend. If you really can manage low doses, good for you! But many of us end up spending more time than we care to admit, and that is when it is a problem. Although, as you raise your standards for how your time should be spent, even 1 hour a day of video games might sound like a lot. You could be building relationships, or reading great literature for example.

For me personally, it works best if I cut video games out completely.

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#217

Post by vrajeshkanna »

The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything by Josh Kaufman -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY

You can be a top 10% in any given field with this. 20 hrs is worth the effort on skills you want to learn.

My personal advice - Learn only if you put that skill into use immediatly for your good or for the greater good of the society around you. Growth for the sake of growth is the mindset of a virus

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#218

Post by tomcam »

I'm at the end of my life. At 25 I decided to get really good at one or two things so I could at least make a living when needed. It was hard to drop other goals but I knew that I could get hired if I was better than 80% of fellow job candidates.

Now that I'm officially retired I'm STILL trying to achieve expertise in multiple areas, but it feels good to know that I was able to support my family and build a retirement fund b/c of my modest expertise.

Re: Ask HN: I want to be an expert in many things but my lifetime won't be enough

#219

Post by zuzuleinen »

Just yesterday I was reading Introduction to computing systems by Patt&Pattel when I realized: I'll never finish this book.

I have other big books lying around my home: OSTEP, Algo Design Manual by Skienna, SICP, Designing Data-Intensive Applications, Computer Systems A programmer perspective. They are all wonderful, that's why I bought them in print, but I'll never gonna finish them.

On top of that I'm doing a course on Docker. Learning more about Go etc.

So to answer your question. I no longer decide on what things to learn based on them being finisheable. I pick whatever I want to do today. Life is too short to do things you don't enjoy.

I'll never gonna finish my projects, but I have something to do everyday. I'm grateful for that.

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