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Ask HN: What are you learning?

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Re: Ask HN: What are you learning?

#351

Post by Twisol »

mjfl wrote: post #333
Twisol wrote: post #275

I'm working through Aluffi's Algebra: Chapter Zero , which covers abstract algebra (groups, fields, vector spaces, etc.) with category theoretic foundations. I took undergraduate algebra several years ago, and I'm really interested in category theory from a compositionality perspective, so this is a good opportunity to brush up on both topics. Aluffi is really well-written. It assumes some degree of mathematical matu…

You know something? I know a little abstract algebra: groups, subgroups, quotient groups, and the relvent theorems behind them. It's been disappointingly useless to me though. Maybe someday I will take the quotient group of two matrix groups... I'm not sure though.

I certainly haven't applied any of those examples either. ^_^ Abstract algebra, topology, etc. are all studies of problems that already have mental frameworks. People already did an incredible amount of legwork building the apparati for understanding these fields (no pun intended). The value of learning these frameworks, if you're not going to work in those fields directly, is to understand how to build your own framework.

What kind of tools are in your toolbox for breaking problems down? Where is my problem different from others, and where is my problem fundamentally the same? How can we isolate these parts and handle them on their own terms? This is fundamentally mathematics, however it's ultimately expressed.

Here's a small selection of those ideas I've picked up from mathematics that have absolutely paid dividends in my day-to-day:

* The idea of a "homomorphism", a structure-perserving map between two different domains of discourse. The more I learn about category theory, the more I realize that homomorphisms are conceptually everywhere in software. The more I learn about domain-driven design, the more I realize the role functors (a particular kind of homomorphism) really play in software design.

* The idea of a "fixed point", for limiting behavior of processes. Fixed points are especially pleasant in domains where processes have some sense in which they "grow monotonically". When I can model a system as a series of operations that "add knowledge" and don't invalidate prior results, I know I have a wealth of analytical tools at my disposal.

* The idea of products (pairing) and sums (choice) in type theory, for modeling interactions between components. I feel like I'm in a straitjacket when using a language without sum types; I have to encode what I really mean using tools that don't let me get there directly.

Re: Ask HN: What are you learning?

#352

Post by amerkhalid »

Game dev. Being trapped inside, nothing is better escape than video games. We are watching a lot of TV but there are not many shows or movies that get you jumping off your couch in frustration or excitement like video games do.

So started playing a lot more video games than usual. Got Dreams on PS4 which ignited my childhood dream of making video games.

Now I am playing with Unity, Unreal, Swift, Xamarin, and more.

Re: Ask HN: What are you learning?

#353

Post by Krizzu »

enhdless wrote: post #338

I'm trying to learn to draw. I feel comfortable enough with my technical skills where I feel like I can pick up a new language or framework with relative ease, so I want to switch gears and improve my drawing and visual communication skills. I believe that any project can benefit from a compelling visual component. For now, I've been trying to start slow and just have fun; for example, telling myself to do three quic…

I actually started Drawabox for the same reason, and I must say that I like that change of mindset. It's feels good to start digging into something that is not directly related to software.

Re: Ask HN: What are you learning?

#354

Post by ericax »

selfish-duck wrote: post #151
ericax wrote: post #78

World-building. After reading about storytelling, I realized that I'm as fascinated to a well-crafted world as good plots and characters. There's not much to read about, as a fiction world can contain as much detail as the real world. I'm spending time looking at the fiction worlds that I like and taking them apart. As an exercise, imagining places and races is also interesting. You'll be amazed by the amount of deta…

Although you said there is not much literature around the subject, did you find anything? This has always been one of my favorite aspects of The Elder's Scrolls and, of course, Tolkien.

As a reference book, the Planet Construction Kit is good and comprehensive.

Although reading reference books like this can be a bit dry, it helps you recognize the elements that an author makes up for his or her world when you see them.

Re: Ask HN: What are you learning?

#357

Post by Beefin »

oblib wrote: post #340

I've been watching youtube videos about ancient cultures and sites. Some of them are lectures that are very well down, others go off on some pretty silly tangents but the videos of the sites they show are often pretty good and that's as close as I'll ever get to visiting most of them so I focus on that when they get to talking about aliens building them and what not. I think I've about exhausted that line though. I'v…

ancient cultures videos sound cool, and recs?

Re: Ask HN: What are you learning?

#358

Post by Beefin »

jlelonm wrote: post #342
kristopolous wrote: post #329

The business side: How do you find your customers, position a product, and create demand. What about new markets, segmentation, downstream and upstream? Bad technology that gets this part right almost always does phenomenally, astoundingly, inconceivably better than great technology that gets it wrong. I'm tired of building things that only I and a few people really like, like some underground band only a few people…

What are some resources you’re using to learn that stuff?

indiehackers is great for guides there

Re: Ask HN: What are you learning?

#360

Post by amznthrowaway5 »

gcheong wrote: post #260
EnderMB wrote: post #138

I'll probably get a lot of shit for this, but LeetCode. I've recently been furloughed, and I think that redundancies aren't too far away. There aren't many companies hiring in my area at the moment, and if I'm going to move it's going to be for a big company, so I'm dusting off the CV and am applying to some Big N companies. A recruiter recently reached out to me, and I've got an interview with one Big N company comi…

I can't hate you for doing what you need to do to get another job, I hate that this it what interviewing has come to and the companies capitalizing off it.

"I hate that this it what interviewing has come to and the companies capitalizing off it."

I for one am extremely grateful, although I think it would be even more fair if it was more like the SAT. Traditional interviews depend too much on status signaling and social connections.

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