How to play poker. It's the advice I'd give my younger self if I could go back in time. An hour is more than enough to learn the rules and basic strategy.
Can you please point to some resources?
Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
581–590 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#582Earlier quoted context omitted.
You’re talking addition and subtraction, compounding deals with multiplication.
To reap the benefits of compound interest (in your favor), you need to stick to a plan. You can't dump your investment portfolio after 5 years. It's these small, daily decisions that add up over time. So while the output is multiplicative, the necessary input is only linear.
Yes but the linear input is not the relevant part. The compounding is.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#583Reading a syntax overview to the Wolfram Programming Language: https://reference.wolfram.com/language/guide/Syntax.html
This will allow you to program in the (in my opinion: extremely underrated) language that WolframAlpha is built over. WPL is more concise than any other LISP, and has extremely powerful visualization capabilities built in. In fact everything is built in. You almost never need to import a library to get something done.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#584Obviously, it depends on what you already know. Otherwise I would say spend an hour learning addition.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#585Earlier quoted context omitted.
I second this as a worthy skill to have, but there aren't many dishes you can become really good at making just in an hour. At least anecdotally, just the process of learning to make a great french omelette is pretty brutal.
Watch this, incredibly simple method that made me actually like omelettes. (I hated them growing up) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s10etP1p2bU "Really good" is subjective. It's the very notion something is possible and that you can do it that I see as valuable. Practice makes perfect, nothing can be perfect the first time you learn it.
You might be interested in this video then:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5__zptEU9vE
The guy in the video tried to replicate Pepin's omelette and documented his progress. Pepin even responded to the video.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#586The Cyrillic script is fairly easy to learn and will let you phonetically read a bunch of languages (Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Mongolian, and Serbian to name a few.) Each language has a few unique letters and pronunciation can vary slightly, but for the most part they are the same. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_script
Some mnemonics about the subject. Mnemonics made me learn hiragana in 2 hours. Cyrilic in less. http://ryanestrada.com/russian/index.html
Sure, I wasn't able to write and read fluently in 2 hours, but I least I didn't need to take a look on a table anymore.
I started to write my personal notes in cyrilic. It's very fun and kinda cryptographic.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#587How to fight and take a punch. People are capable of taking much more punishment then they think. With an hour of practice, you can overcome the initial fear and act much more rational when push comes to shove. I understand that this is not just "intense concentration" while sitting behind your desk, but that is exactly the point of learning, get out of your bubble.
I suggest Brazilian Jujitsu. The rolling aspect of training trains you mentally to not to panic and problem solve the situation, deal with pressure, build cardio and relearn how to breathe, and adapt to different body types. Unlike striking martial arts, less worry of CTE.
In regards to what can be learned in an hour, a roll with someone gives you an idea of what it is like to be on the ground with someone in a fight without striking, biting, eye gouging, etc.It is a decent simulation if what would happen when on the ground and the idea that if someone doesn't honor your tap, you can be in big trouble.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#588How to cook for yourself, really, really good food. I no longer crave restaurant food, and all of the really important things I learned about cooking take just the time to read it, hear about it and then try it. All without any special hardware. A few examples: 1. Cooking jasmine rice: rinse it first, 1 c. water to 1 c. rice ratio. Bring to boil, turn down heat to lowest setting. Leave lid /the entire time/. Fluff th…
You mentioned cooking jasmine rice using a 1:1 ratio of water to rice, but rice generally can't be cooked using a linear ratio like this. As you increase the amount of rice being cooked, and change the size/shape of the cooking vessel, more of the water will be lost as steam. It's easiest to use a rice cooker, which will allow you more flexibility with regards to how much water/rice you used, but if you don't have a…
Good advice on the water. Similar to how people learn ovens, it helps to learn pans. The best method I've tried so far is a ~2:1 ratio (adjust to desired texture) in a 14" wide, lidded, enameled skillet. I'll try the oven again soon to compare, but that particular pan on a stovetop is hard to beat. Learn your pans.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#589Earlier quoted context omitted.
Haven't seen the videos, but I was taught the "proper" way of wrapping audio cables when I took an audio recording class, and now I obsessively wrap all my cables that way. So much more useful!
> So much more useful! The only cables I really deal with are network cables and extension cords and I've always just done the wrap-around-your-palm-and-elbow-method. What am I missing out on?
You are missing out on what the previous comments and links are telling you -- you're twisting your poor cables to death.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#590I've seen it in a subcomment, but here it goes anyway: to tie your shoes properly. At least avoiding the granny knot [0], and I would suggest using Ian's secure knot [1], too. It's been a life changer for me not to stop all thr time to re-tie my shoes.