Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

371–380 of 579 posts

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

#371

Post by wsy »

klibertp wrote: post #335
Royalaid wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can contribute some. Mostly it comes when you attack problems and conceptualize your solution to that problem, it does not come when looking for a library or digging through the API. Almost all of the problems you will encounter in your day to day work will be something with an already known solution or use a well known and researched pattern. Knowing the common language and use cases for data structures is probabl…

> I can contribute some. So please do, then? > How else would I know that at the root ... Just read a few books on algorithms and data structures? Is that a problem? Or do you say CS degree course gives you access to books you otherwise cannot get? I got my first, quite a decent one[1], for my 12th birthday. I slept with it. Like, seriously, kept it next to my pillow. At first, I didn't understand anything. A year la…

Imagine you would have had to go your path with just books, without the great math teacher you mention. It would have been possible, but much harder.

Now imagine you have 5 or 10 great teachers, with expertise in different areas of CS. Wouldn't that also have made it possible for you to learn much faster, or learn more in the same time?

And now imagine, you meet a few like-minded CS students, and 'try to implement something' together instead of on your own. That was what really boosted my learning rate.

Of course, university does not have a monopoly for these experiences. But the good CS programs are designed to provide it to you.

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

#372

Post by randcraw »

drpossum wrote: post #52

This may sound weird, but estimation. This book literally changed my thinking and how I do a lot of calculations http://web.mit.edu/6.055/book/book-draft.pdf Basic physics principles combined with the above. Being able to not only see how something works, but to be able to at least estimate it's parameters is invaluable to designing anything new

I think skills like these are much overlooked in academia. Some of the most engaging and rewarding work I've had in my 32 years in computing professionally has been spent better understanding the problem space and the limits to the signals available therefrom. Knowing how to better map the problem to the solution space deftly interweaves the art of science with the craft of engineering, greatly enriching the journey betwixt.

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

#373

Post by enraged_camel »

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.

Income is just a proxy (albeit an inaccurate one, and not the only one) for the value you add to your society. From this perspective, there is nothing wrong with trying to maximize it, in my opinion, as long as it is not one's only drive.

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

#374

Post by afarrell »

cirgue wrote: post #193
afarrell wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> discipline For the benefit of my past self: discipline isn’t about punishment or being harsh with yourself. Discipline is the practice of saying to yourself “this is hard. This is scary. This is worth it and so I’m going to do it because I’m stronger than I think” and then following through with action. EDIT: Sometimes the "following through with action" bit also involves knowing what you need to set yourself up fo…

Discipline is learning how to want to do something, not how to make yourself do something.

Wouldn’t that be motivation?

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

#375

Post by balladeer »

jhwang5 wrote: post #4

Running. Been running ~ 2 years fairly seriously. Lost a lot of weight, and have never been healthier. Now have run marathons under 3 hours, qualified for Boston, ran in international races, Hawaii, etc. Running and any active sports feel fun when you are fast.

I wish everyone who runs that may they never stop , ever :-)

Was a long distance runner from 2012-2016. It was so fun, used to look forward for my morning run every single day - I'd once forgotten all my credit cards when flying to another city but not my running shoe. Almost never missed it for anything. Minor injury broke it for 1.5 months. Been struggling to pick up again since then. It's 2 years. Procrastination and complete loss of motivation.

It helped me keep in shape, improved stamina, and surprisingly it actually had kept my diet disciplined and healthy. I have 12 half organised marathons and one 38km under my belt.

(PS. Had stepped on a slightly bigger rock and had to abandon my first and last marathon - it was trail)

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

#376

Post by sridca »

tarsinge wrote: post #176
sridca wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

> Far less chances of getting injuries with bodyweight exercises I found no evidence for this, arguments seems to boil down to an "appeal to nature". Many variations of bodyweight exercices are far from healthy for tendons (single arm push ups or single arm pull ups for example), even basic push ups are harder on the shoulders than dumbbell bench press. If you keep the rep range above 15-20 the risk of injury is pret…

>> Far less chances of getting injuries with bodyweight exercises

> I found no evidence for this,

From Wikipedia:

""" Bodyweight exercises have a far lower risk of injury compared to using free weights and machines due to the absence of an external load that is placing strain on the muscles that they may or may not be able to deal with. However, the lower risk of injury is only provided that the athlete/trainee is progressing through the correct progressions and not immediately skipping to strenuous movements that can place undue and possibly harmful stress on ligaments, tendons, and other tissues. Although falling on the head, chest, buttocks, and falling backwards can occur, these are far less harmful injuries than dropping a weight on a body part, or having a joint extended beyond its natural range of motion due to a weight being used incorrectly. """

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

#377

Post by sridca »

strls wrote: post #343
sridca wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Where's the less chance of injury part coming from? It's much easier to master and incrementally load a fundamental weightlifting movement than a corresponding bodyweight progression. This means better form and more control - fewer injuries. I have tried both types of training for a while, and have concluded that weights are superior in every way. Unless the goal is mastery of a specific bodyweight skill.

From Wikipedia:

""" Bodyweight exercises have a far lower risk of injury compared to using free weights and machines due to the absence of an external load that is placing strain on the muscles that they may or may not be able to deal with. However, the lower risk of injury is only provided that the athlete/trainee is progressing through the correct progressions and not immediately skipping to strenuous movements that can place undue and possibly harmful stress on ligaments, tendons, and other tissues. Although falling on the head, chest, buttocks, and falling backwards can occur, these are far less harmful injuries than dropping a weight on a body part, or having a joint extended beyond its natural range of motion due to a weight being used incorrectly. """

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

#380

Post by codr4 »

enitihas wrote: post #354
codr4 wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of people who are managing that without making any money at all, despite all sorts of prolonged efforts to turn their way of living into hell. Integrity, being surrounded by loving people, being in good health, having the freedom to be all that you are. Those are all more important from my perspective. We've been carefully conditioned to believe that this game is the only alternative, it's not.

Can you elaborate a bit more on how people are managing the above things without making money at all?

Take a look around you; I'm sure you can find plenty of people living if not outside, at least on the outer perimeter of society. They're still here, some of them in better overall health than more well adjusted citizens.

There are thousands and thousands of collectives, religious and otherwise; that live together in relative harmony and mostly grow their own food and keep the state at arms length. I've lived in two myself, one ashram and one oriented around permaculture gardening.

I would point you to the native tribes, but I can't think of any that we haven't brutally destroyed to remove all traces of their way of living.

Total dependence has always been the goal, and they've fought long and hard using every trick in the book and then some to get there. The fact that we're even having this kind of discussion is a testimony to the strength of the human spirit that just won't give up.

Post reply on HN