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Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?

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Re: Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?

#301

Post by lwansbrough »

mmirate wrote: post #84

Why is it necessary to truly avoid exploiting the other party, instead of merely maintaining for them an illusion that they're not being exploited?

Indeed the idea is to make the adversary feel as though they’re getting a fair deal. The risk of exploiting them is that they might find out and now you’ve damaged your own reputation. Forcing the adversary to consider your perspective with empathy will allow them to recognize the unfair aspects of their deal and renegotiate for you.

It’s not that you shouldn’t exploit them (though in most cases it’s grately beneficial to both parties if you don’t), it’s that if you’re doing it right, you don’t need to in most cases.

There’s always exceptions, but the concept of approaching any deal with a core principle of exploiting the other party is a flawed strategy.

Re: Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?

#302

Post by dominotw »

sridca wrote: post #120
wallflower wrote: post #71

Going to a gym two to three times a week for small group training sessions. In terms of investment, it is not as expensive as private training and it keeps you on track. The real investment is in you. Your most important asset is your ability to produce income. Having a healthier body helps maintain that ability. The damage that I do through typing is only barely counteracted by these training sessions. I don’t take…

I'd recommend calisthenics instead of going to a gym. Far less chances of getting injuries with bodyweight exercises. This book is a good start: https://www.reddit.com/r/overcominggravity

Watch out for your wrists though. Most ppl have weak wrists and end up hurting themsleves with bodyweight excerises.

Re: Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?

#303

Post by tanderson92 »

uiae wrote: post #259
mathgenius wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Argentine tango : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRQ1T5zKTJ4

Wow thank you. That was great. I completely got sucked into their performance even though I have never danced argentine tango.

That was milonga, one of the three primary sub-dances of tango, though the technique overlaps almost entirely. Here is the most common style, actually called tango (words are heavily overloaded in tango): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiT4OS6MKVQ

For completeness, here is the 3rd main type: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWSugQxwpEA

Worth mentioning it is entirely improvised.

Re: Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?

#304

Post by dominotw »

songzme wrote: post #247

Learning how to smile. I would spend time in front of the mirror practicing my smile for different situations. During interviews I would force myself to smile. It helped get rid of some nervousness. When I get stuck on a problem I would smile stupidly and usually the interviewer would help me out. When I feel like conversations are getting heated I would take a step back and smile, it helps me direct the conversion t…

Wow. Amazing advice. I was feeling shitty and nervous now and tried a bit of forced smiling. Changed my mood for sure.

Re: Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?

#305

Post by paulclinger »

secondtom wrote: post #260
stareatgoats wrote: post #158

Planting fruit trees on the property. Fruit trees require little maintenance and can, when mature and when things have been done right, produce amazing yields year after year for several decades. The previous grass lawn mono-culture has given way to several rows of apple and cherry trees, thanks to a few hours spent learning how and digging the holes. I know of nothing more rewarding as a function of the (tiny) time…

Do you have any recommended resources?

Not OP, but here is one that I liked: The Holistic Orchard Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way By Michael Phillips. It covers a variety of topics and different types of fruit trees and berries.

Re: Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?

#306

Post by kidshoulder »

fredsir wrote: post #275

> Your most important asset is your ability to produce income. I think that's an incredibly sad way to view yourself and your life, albeit I bet that for many people producing income is the single most important thing. I see that as a consequence and a failure of society.

Fitter, healthier, and more productive. A pig in a cage, on antibiotics.

Re: Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?

#307

Post by growtofill »

songzme wrote: post #234
csomar wrote: post #224

Drinking lots of water. It might not be the same for everyone. However, I have noticed that I rarely drink water. It is interesting that I only noticed that this year (late twenties). The effects on my body and mind were phenomenal. I used to drink less than 1 liter a day. I don't feel thirst. So I don't drink water when I'm dehydrated (because I almost never feel it). Instead, I have a prescribed quantity that I dri…

During my interviews, I notice a profound difference in performance when I drank 2 gallons of water a day before the interview. I got out of those interviews thinking, How did I even come up with that solution? I pocketed a few offers and drinking water definitely played a pretty big role. Now I drink 2 gallons of water every day, it's become a habit and I feel sharp every day.

2 US liquid gallons? 7.5 liters?

Re: Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?

#308

Post by dominotw »

m90 wrote: post #147
mattlondon wrote: post #142

Computer Science degree. Sure, lots of us "learnt" programming in our bedrooms or whatever by doing our own thing and messing about in whatever language. I went into my compsci degree arrogantly thinking that I pretty much knew how to code already so please just give me the bit of paper saying I have the degree and I'll be on my way thanks very much. I was very wrong. Although I was pretty good at the coding (or at l…

I'd be interested in a few real world examples of these cases where you are able to apply the CS knowledge in your day job. Would you mind sharing one or two?

Learning about b-trees, storage layers of databases comes in hand when you have to push your database to its optimum performance.

Similarly understanding storage classes for data and indexes, for example when to btree vs lsm trees. If you are using lsm trees when and how it should be optimized.

And ofcourse, in interviews :D.

Re: Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?

#309

Post by faizshah »

Painting/drawing

I am horrible at drawing, even doodling, but I spent a few weeks taking a drawing class that covered the basics (perspective, lighting, seeing shapes etc) and it's amazing how rapidly you can improve with just a little practice. It taught me that you could really learn anything (even things you think you are bad at) if you put in consistent practice over time. It also taught me that doing drills is not useless. It's best to do drills, get the hang of the small skills that you routinely use on a bigger project then take on the bigger project once you're comfortable.

Everyone should find an outlet to experience that slow and incremental improvement of skills especially hands on skills like painting and drawing. Be sure to keep your earliest works to look back on how much you've improved.

Re: Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?

#310

Post by doronaviguy »

kidshoulder wrote: post #306
fredsir wrote: post #275

> Your most important asset is your ability to produce income. I think that's an incredibly sad way to view yourself and your life, albeit I bet that for many people producing income is the single most important thing. I see that as a consequence and a failure of society.

Fitter, healthier, and more productive. A pig in a cage, on antibiotics.

Ok computer
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