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Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

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Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#451

Post by CamperBob2 »

pmoriarty wrote: post #183
ghstcode wrote: post #73

Before spending the last money I had on a coding book, the cashier could see my hesitation and said "don't worry, investing in yourself is never a waste of money". It had a profound impact on me.

I've bought thousands of books that I never read... so... yeah, that was a waste of money. I presume you did better with your investment.

Then again, the most valuable book in the world isn't the Gutenberg Bible or a first folio of Shakespeare or a handwritten draft of Principia. It's the one you need at 2 AM on a Sunday morning but don't have on your shelf.

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#453

Post by djmips »

tomcdonnell wrote: post #61

When I was at university, one professor of electrical engineering would refuse to answer any student who asked whether their answer to a circuit theory problem was correct. When asked why he would refuse to answer, he would say: "If you aren't confident that your answer is correct, then I would like to mark you as wrong even though you may be right. You are the expert. You should be telling me that your answer is rig…

I find this just annoying.

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#454

Post by gbro3n »

edw519 wrote: post #279
gbro3n wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would be great to get some context / examples around some of these

Thanks for the feedback, gbro3n. I'm too lazy to write a blog post about this at the moment, so here's a quickie reply: 1. An estimate is better than a guess. An measurement is better than an estimate. Feedback from my mentor at a silly presentation of mine that convinced no one. I added data (as suggested) and it killed. 2. It's never the money. (They will always say it is, but it's not.) I had trouble selling softw…

Thank you, makes more sense and some for me to think about there.

Some one once told me another version of your No. 3 - "A pocket full of thankyous is nice, but won't pay your bills".

On No. 17, I think it's important to get a little fist pump in sometimes. It make's up for the other days when I call myself an idiot for silly mistakes!

And on going with your gut, I do this much more these days. Unfortunately I don't get to find out if I was right on the oppotunities I let go.

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#455

Post by elboru »

jazzyk wrote: post #410
solveit wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you're fourteen, those randos are your peer group, and you're stuck with them all day. Also, you're fourteen so you haven't quite figured out whose opinions should be important to you, and also you're wildly insecure about your position in your world.

Life is not fair and not a bed of roses, never will be. These experiences make you tougher - in adult life, you will run into toxic bosses, colleagues, brutal job interviewers... It is important to have a loving family and/or supportive friends who can provide a different point of reference.

Funny enough I haven’t encountered bigger a-holes than the bullies in my childhood.

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#456

Post by layer8 »

crankin wrote: post #299

I have found that all the best advice I've received centers on how to focus your attention. As humans when we can give something our full attention it's almost impossible that what we are doing won't bear fruit. Here are some axioms around that idea that if you implement you will progress. - Time is not your most valuable resource. Your attention is. - Focus your attention only on things that have disproportionate re…

> Discern between Type 1 & Type 2 decisions. High vs low consequence. If high consequence apply scientific method. Everything else delegate to smart people.

What is meant by “everything else” here? All low-consequence decisions? That doesn’t seem to make sense (e.g. what to eat for lunch today).

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#457

Post by elboru »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #409
edw519 wrote: post #248

Mentor advice: 1. An estimate is better than a guess. An measurement is better than an estimate. 2. It's never the money. (They will always say it is, but it's not.) 3. Never let anyone eat your lunch. 4. The best time to turn it on is before it's ready. You'll get plenty of data to finish it faster. 5. The only good Powerpoint slide is evergreen. If it's not, it's already obsolete. 6. Your positive mental attitude m…

11. The reason everyone we work for sucks is because those who don't suck never call us. I especially like that one. Me, as a newbie in the industry: "Customer X is a bunch of idiots." Boss: "If they weren't idiots, they wouldn't need us." This one, on the other hand: 4. The best time to turn it on is before it's ready. You'll get plenty of data to finish it faster. If it's software, check your backups first. If it's…

Not a hardware guy. But I guess you can turn on modules individually before everything is done.

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#458

Post by blooalien »

javajosh wrote: post #124

My mother told me to not care what other people thought. She also told me that words can't really hurt people ("sticks and stones..."). She also believed its "mean" to have any preference about people, calling it a version of "keeping score". In fact, "keeping score" was one of the worst things you could be accused of in my household. Her advice fails to accept the reality of social and emotional needs. It also fails…

Also, advice that works perfectly well for one individual can (for various possible reasons) turn out horrifically bad for some other individual person. Some of the best advice I ever got was from my gran'pa; "Take the advice of others with a grain of salt…" ;~)

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#459

Post by blooalien »

gabereiser wrote: post #345
MonkeyClub wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does raise an interesting question, though: Is it the teachers' or the parents' responsibility to teach manners to a child? Isn't this something that you'd pick up at home first, before ever stepping a foot into an institutionalized pedagogical setting? Perhaps instead of suing the entire school district, GP should rather sue the parents of the offending child? /s To remove the tongue from the cheek, though, and prov…

100% the parents… teachers can influence but it’s the parents legal responsibility to not raise a monster.

Legal, ethical, and moral responsibility…
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