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Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

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Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#551

Post by elbear »

nautilus12 wrote: post #330
localhost wrote: post #291

I would say focus on building a solid, functional body vs. say focusing on goals like "how much can I lift?" or "how much do I weigh?" or "how fast can I go?". Those goals, while laudable, can also cause you to break down your body in your quest to achieve them. An example from literally yesterday. Over the past few months, I struggled with medial knee pain that was limiting my ability to walk up stairs and do other…

Rock climbing and/or swimming are great ways to achieve these goals. The nature of the sports are such that it pushes the body hollistically. Plus rock climbing is fun and mentally challenging, like chess with your body.

I would add buying a kettlebell and starting to do swings and Turkish get-up. They're energizing and work almost your entire body in a functional way.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#553

Post by schnevets »

Learn how to engage with your local community, especially in a way that you believe improves a "greater good". Tech people are too preoccupied in the global community that they don't think about neighbors and the community around them.

I used to think someone else was thinking in my best interest with local politics, culture, and social issues, but I have recently learned about to be more assertive and engaged. I wish I started a lot sooner, and I wish more Millennials/Gen-Xers (especially those in tech) would push for something they believe in.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#554

Post by rewq4321 »

chrissnell wrote: post #100

Some 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…

+1 walks and cooking healthy meals.

> Build something.

Build something that the world actually needs. Something where you're using your unique skills and privilege to help improve the world a bit - help others who are a few rungs below you.

Have a plan for how you're going to do the most good you can with the time you have left. Helping others (humans and sentient non-humans) is the best path to long-term happiness in my opinion.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#555

Post by lzol »

Normal_gaussian wrote: post #245
dsego wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would never recommend deadlifts. Those are really dangerous and easy to do wrong. My friend shattered his spine doing deadlifts and needed surgery and months of recovery and he still can't bend down or sit in certain positions.

To be somewhat insensitive; it sounds like he was doing it wrong. I'm recently on a kick to take my fitness more seriously; for me that means a three month stint with a personal trainer, bringing in a dietician soon, and planning on rounding out with a running coach. As a note, all of this isn't that expensive - its just coming out of most peoples holiday and expensive treat budgets. Doing it like this means you cons…

Exactly. If you're not focusing on form and don't have experience or guidance, almost any free weight lift can be dangerous. There are ways to mitigate the risk of deadlifts just like any other lift. Use a hexbar so the weight isn't entirely in front of you. Start learning incredibly light and focus on form. Wear a belt to help keep your core engaged. These plus so many other tips will mitigate the risks of one of the most effective full body lifts.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#557

Post by ezzzzz »

shaggie76 wrote: post #14

When I read the latest "who is hiring" post I was overwhelmed by the amount of Python listed; I've always used PERL but I seem to be the only one at the office left who can.

Interestingly enough, one of the reasons I'm learning Python is because I don't know Perl, which is used at my workplace. My experience is that Python works well as a 'glue' language for doing systems things.

EDIT: I should mention, I'm not just refusing to learn Perl, I'm just choosing to use Python where Perl would have been used before. No other Devs on our team are Perl experts, all our Perl code is Legacy.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#558

Post by ShteiLoups »

posedge wrote: post #316
ptero wrote: post #149

Interpersonal skills. Those are usually in very short supply at tech companies. This wide spectrum with many sweet spots. For example, if you can learn what a developer is doing without pissing them off or boring them out of their minds and translate from techno-babble to humanspeak and back you can quickly make yourself appreciated in many tech companies. Time management skills. Learn to rest, really rest so that yo…

Curious, what else would you recommend to really rest?

Relax with intent. Relax with the sole purpose of relaxing. Meditation would be the extreme case, I think.

No scrolling, no consuming media. Do something that involves little mental or physical capacity, but provides some holisitic benefit. Things that make you feel good on the whole.

In summary, do something where the point is to do it in order to relax, and not for any other point at all. Remove all mental load of stress about outcomes and instead immerse yourself in the present moment of relaxation.

Some methods that seem to work for myself and others are a good walk or a journaling session. A physical notebook to write in can be a bit more holistic than typing an entry into a keyboard. It can be hard to start, I just start with "captains log", then a date, and then my stream of thoughts.

Playing with small manipulatives can be good fun as well. Lego, K'nex, etc. I hear some people like painting models. Playing an instrument is also fantastic. Guitar is absurdly simple to learn the basics of (a servicable one can be had at a pawn shop or amazon for reasonably cheap), and then it's just a matter of grabbing some sheet music and practicing. If you let go of how good you actually sound, and instead assign value to the act of practicing, it is a great way to refresh.

Another great way is to read. A good book and a cup of tea is a very relaxing experience. I'll note that this should be pleasure reading, and not technical reading.

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#559

Post by joshdance »

clSTophEjUdRanu wrote: post #438
localhost wrote: post #291

I would say focus on building a solid, functional body vs. say focusing on goals like "how much can I lift?" or "how much do I weigh?" or "how fast can I go?". Those goals, while laudable, can also cause you to break down your body in your quest to achieve them. An example from literally yesterday. Over the past few months, I struggled with medial knee pain that was limiting my ability to walk up stairs and do other…

Funny. When I shipped to Marine boot camp I was frightful my minor knee pain would get worse. Turns out I was just a wimp. Pain disappeared with exercise. I also had acid reflux and stomach problems for years that disappeared. Every single ailment that I've had that is not an injury disappeared when I got into shape (and read Sarnos book).

Which book?

Re: Ask HN: What Skills to Acquire in 2020?

#560

Post by amoorthy »

mattrp wrote: post #229
chrissnell wrote: post #100

Some 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…

> - 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. Be careful... my wife gave me a drill one year and I’ve since renovated two houses and now have a small fortune in tools. If you don’t have a garage, basement or backyard for it, your local community college might have a “maker l…

Btw, not as satisfying as woodwork perhaps but you can do small electrical projects around your house and feel a sense of accomplishment. e.g. installing dimmer switches. Turn off mains and then easy to follow instructions that comes with the switch. Just screwdriver and pliers needed. Save energy and house looks warmer. :-)
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