One of the goals I've set for myself in 2020 is to adopt a philosophy of minimalism and use budgeting tools (can be as simple as a spreadsheet) to be mindful of where my spending goes and try to rein in the excess spend.
Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?
521–530 of 876 posts
Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?
#522Some suggestions: - Build something. A new workbench for your office. Fix up an old car. Build a pull-up bar in your garage. Use your hands, cut some wood and metal, and treat yourself to a new tool or two. Do this with every project and you will have a nice tool collection before you know it. - Learn to take pictures on a manual camera. You can do this with a modern automatic camera if it has a manual mode. Learn ab…
Listen to classical music. This one didn't come to me until my 40s but I finally realized: there's a reason that this music has been popular for 300 years. I agree. It's funny how when I was young I would only listen to one type of music, like it was some kind of tribal loyalty. Now I listen to all kinds of things, and I've learned to hear the difference between really good music and stuff that's just manufactured fo…
WRR has kept me through thick and thin.
My bookmark straight to the music streamer page is below uBlock a few of the banner ads and you are set.
Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?
#523Prolog. You'll discover what it feels like to have a language that actually does hard work for you (except string manipulation...), instead of having to guide it through every little detail. Logic programming isn't actually that hard, and more people learning it will help move the state of programming forward.
I took a class that used prolog in college. It was so confusing at first. Then one day, I was doing an assignment with definite clause grammar, and everything clicked. It wasn’t just my understanding of prolog that benefitted, either. Suddenly I also internalized how regular expressions work.
I remember it distinctly because it was such a good, almost euphoric feeling that seemed to drop randomly on top of me.
When people say that learning a new, different language will give you benefits that carry over to the rest of your abilities, I remember that moment.
There is definitely a lot to be said for stretching your programming brain in new ways.
Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?
#524Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I have friends who eat out every single meal of every single day. I have friends who do too but it's not because they don't know how to cook, it's because they don't like to and don't wanna bother and can afford the luxury of having someone else to do it for them.
I have a suspicion this kind of living, in part, explains why so many people are miserable. I feel like removing every inconvenient thing from your life, and "having someone else do it for you" must make your ability to handle discomfort atrophy to the point where the tiniest unpleasantness feels like a catastrophe. Like muscles, your brain, your immune system, etc., we need a little discomfort / struggle once in a w…
I agree with your general sentiment. However, in my anecdotal sampling of people who frequently cook vs frequently eat out, tolerance for discomfort is greater in those that frequently eat out. Especially in relation to food, where those who frequently cook almost can't tolerate food cooked by others. Further on the food front, people who cook seem to be more heavily affected by fasting, or less willing to tolerate it. (For my sampling, eating food supplement such as huel or soylent goes under the frequently eat out category)
With respect to the ancestral comment about getting confused looks when refusing to eat with someone, they likely aren't confused because you would eat food you cooked, they are confused because you don't want to spend time with them. Personally, eating out for lunch with my labmates, coworkers, friends, family, etc. is the highlight of my day.
Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?
#525Earlier quoted context omitted.
Okay, this is a narrative that is occurring in your head, but it's not occurring in everyone's head, and if you happen to talk to someone who has this narrative occurring in their head, who cares? You're not going to please everyone. You're not going to befriend everyone you talk to, but you're not going to befriend anyone you don't talk to.
> Okay, this is a narrative that is occurring in your head, but it's not occurring in everyone's head, Oh, for sure, I'm not saying this approach won't work for you. I'm saying that if you're using that approach you're being using strategies designed mostly by abusers, that are inherently abusive (now, whether you are an abuser depends on whether you realise that and whether you stick to it after realising that), and…
It sounds like you have a history of abuse. I am so sorry and hope you're able to get the help you need. As I'm sure you know, not everyone trying to socialize is out to get you. Not everyone has the same social needs as you. But I can see how difficult that could be if you've been a victim of abuse. I think it's good to note that not everyone has the same hang ups as you do, and many people do actually enjoy meeting people and making acquaintances outside of specifically designated social events.
DM me if you'd like someone to talk to.
Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?
#526- First-principles based reading. I fell into the easy trap of just reading business books that cover tactics. Read biographies of people who've accomplished a lot. Read how computers and electronics work at a more fundamental level, not just how to code. Basically, just apply some conscious thought to the kinds of books you read, and don't think of books as an instruction manual for right now. They're part of your g…
I have a lot of trouble finding first principles resources. For instance, I'm trying to build up my expertise in business intelligence / analytics. I have found it basically impossible to find anything that isn't at the "for dummies" and / or temporarily dominant technology level. Do you have strategies for finding these kinds of books?
Mining your Own Business is a great book about delivering business value for analytics programs.
Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?
#527Skills to acquire in 2020, ye Hacker News reader? A wee bit of abstract mathematics knowledge, so that you can better think in abstract terms when solving problems. The hardest of problems require the usage of and familiarity with advanced abstractions. Abstract mathematics knowledge provides that great—and profound!—capability.
Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?
#528Learn to dream again. Nightly dreaming that is, not the wishing-kind. Specifically, lucid dreaming, i.e. being conscious and awake while physically asleep in the REM state.
I recently stopped smoking weed for the first time in a long time. After about a week I was having incredibly vivid dreams. I never even realized I had missed them.
Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?
#529Some suggestions: - Build something. A new workbench for your office. Fix up an old car. Build a pull-up bar in your garage. Use your hands, cut some wood and metal, and treat yourself to a new tool or two. Do this with every project and you will have a nice tool collection before you know it. - Learn to take pictures on a manual camera. You can do this with a modern automatic camera if it has a manual mode. Learn ab…
Learn to enjoy poetry. There is so much of great poetry in English, but I think it is not being read and appreciated enough. It is a kind of mental challenge like doing a puzzle, to unlock the full vivid meaning. Also reading fiction, though how exactly it helps one is beyond me, but it offers glimpses into other worlds. For example I read recently 'The French Lieutenant's Woman', I doubt its richness of detail, and…
A good place to start is with the Poetry Foundation: https://www.poetryfoundation.org
It's been around since the early 1900's and has lots of good articles and podcasts, even a poetry magazine.
If you're American, it's nice because it focuses a lot on American and Midwestern poets.
And if you're in the Chicagoland area, it has events and its new headquarters downtown is considered an architectural treat.
Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?
#530Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a suspicion this kind of living, in part, explains why so many people are miserable. I feel like removing every inconvenient thing from your life, and "having someone else do it for you" must make your ability to handle discomfort atrophy to the point where the tiniest unpleasantness feels like a catastrophe. Like muscles, your brain, your immune system, etc., we need a little discomfort / struggle once in a w…
If I could afford it, and there were nice eateries, I would love to eat out.
I don't understand it, but I can eat the same thing at home for breakfast every day of every week for years and not get bored of it. If I ate at the same restaurant every morning, I'd be sick of it before the end of the week.