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Ask HN: How do you decide what to learn next?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to learn next?

#71

Post by burger_moon »

crispyambulance wrote: post #55

I am surprised that no one has mentioned consultation with a MENTOR. Really, if you "don't know what you don't know", you need some type of trusted guide who understands your aptitudes and motivations and can recommend a path of study or provide some clarity of thought. There is absolutely nothing wrong with fumbling around in the dark and discovering stuff on your own, but if you're asking this question, it means yo…

A mentor would be an amazing source.

Unfortunately where I work there aren't any people that would fit that bill. Finding a mentor outside of work is difficult for many reasons.

From what I've found this is a pretty common problem.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to learn next?

#72

Post by selmat »

agentultra wrote: post #13

Usually I'm pursuing something. Along the way as I gain experience and encounter difficulties I put my head up and look for solutions. I don't always find what I'm looking for but it gives me hunches. When those hunches collide I get ideas and from there it becomes pretty clear what I know and what I need to learn in order to progress. I'm presently learning predicate calculus and formal specifications of software sy…

Have you list of good resources for these math topics?

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to learn next?

#73

Post by hoodwink »

exDM69 wrote: post #61

I've got a TODO list of things I want to learn that's populated enough to keep me busy for years to come. I just wish I had more time to act on it. The items on my list are half concrete tasks and half topics to learn. The subjects are very diverse, I have a broad range of interests. Here's a few from the top: 1. Learn enough classical mechanics to do a stable n body simulation 2. Build a piece of furniture with mort…

This is basically what I do. Whenever a cool idea comes into my head, I put it into my list app. I have a list for projects (e.g., build a piece of furniture), skills (e.g., woodworking), topics, and business ideas.

I then review these lists periodically and when the time is right, they naturally move into my "Active" list in one form or another.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to learn next?

#74

Post by DenisM »

crispyambulance wrote: post #55

I am surprised that no one has mentioned consultation with a MENTOR. Really, if you "don't know what you don't know", you need some type of trusted guide who understands your aptitudes and motivations and can recommend a path of study or provide some clarity of thought. There is absolutely nothing wrong with fumbling around in the dark and discovering stuff on your own, but if you're asking this question, it means yo…

It's fairly difficult to find someone who cares enough to mentor you. They can't buy stock in your person, they are busy with things in their life, they don't have much power over you so they can't quite be sure to get even a short-term payoff.

It might work if the pupil is willing to just do the bidding of the master to relief him from his chores, so that the master has incentive to spend effort on pupil's education. I surmise so few students want to play this role that there is no cultural norm to draw from, the concept is too alien.

It's a pity, too. There ought to be a way to transfer knowledge and skill from one generation to another.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to learn next?

#75

Post by DenisM »

narag wrote: post #22

Mostly what I anticipate I will need for the job. For my own pleasure I choose tools whose proponents talk with a reasonable voice. I dismiss any technonology when I see people that: * Says that the rest of the world is doing it wrong and they will fix the situation with this "change of paradigm". * Presents their products as a "social movement" that's "challenging the industry as we know it". * Promises 10x producti…

Is Haskell bad on your book?

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to learn next?

#76

Post by trainstroker »

visakanv wrote: post #46
tedmiston wrote: post #31

Something I've always wanted is "a Netflix queue for tech I want to learn" Ideal features would include: - a regular review of the things you've listed to see if they're still relevant and to help you prioritize - a way to see what's trending amongst everything you've listed (ex. I have three front end web frameworks on my list but React is collectively popular, so perhaps I should start there) - it could notify you…

I want this for everything. Music to listen to, books to read, guitar skills to learn next, etc

I made a chrome extension called Will Listen Later that partially addresses the problems of music junkie drowning in I listened soundcloud and YouTube links.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to learn next?

#77

Post by trainstroker »

NhanH wrote: post #48
visakanv wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want this for everything. Music to listen to, books to read, guitar skills to learn next, etc

Why wouldn't multiple TODO lists work for you? Just a UI/UX issue or is there any reason?

I think that having an application specifically tailored for a use case has more potential for rich experience and integration with the content.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to learn next?

#78

Post by williamkennedy »

I love the answers here. My system is pretty simple. I keep a list on Evernote every time I find a new resource to learn from. I only consider the resource (usually an online course/book) is going to help me be better at my job or help with a current hobby project. Then when I am bored at home later looking for something to do, I can refer back to this list and pick up from there. Usually, I find these resources when I am looking through Stackoverflow for answers. If I find I don't understand something or judge a Stackoverflow answer, I would find a Lynda.com course or something similar to add to the list.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what to learn next?

#80

Post by captn3m0 »

I started reading Passionate Programmer yesterday, and it talks about this. The idea is to either pick a relatively new technology that you can bet your career at and to pick a dying tech that might survive for a while (like COBOL). Picking the first gives you immediate coolness points, but learning the latter guarantees you won't accidentally become obsolete.

Another categorisation (especially for languages) is to pick a paradigm that is different from your day job. Picking a functional language is the most common example.

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