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Ask HN: Does anybody else feel overwhelmed while reading HN?

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Re: Ask HN: Does anybody else feel overwhelmed while reading HN?

#41

Post by b3kart »

Try doing DL research these days -- just skimming through new papers takes most of your day. :-)

The thing that helped me the most was to realize that you _have_ to specialize, at least to some extent. It's impossible to know and do everything, no matter how much you would like to.

Pick "your thing", and worry about staying up-to-date on it. Everything else skim through just to understand what's going on. How broad "your thing" should be depends on how much time you're willing to spend.

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody else feel overwhelmed while reading HN?

#43

Post by mapster »

twoquestions wrote: post #22
smacktoward wrote: post #16

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity. -- Tao Te Ching , Stephen Mitchell translation ( http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/taote-v3.h... )

I need to get this carved into my steering wheel. I need to burn it into my brain that it's acceptable to be adequate.

..it's acceptable to be the best yourself. There is only one of you in this world ;)

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody else feel overwhelmed while reading HN?

#44

Post by mdjt »

"During that time I've become an integral part of my team and have constantly been learning." First off, this sounds like you know a lot more than you give yourself credit for!

Second, think about what kind of site HN is. This is a site whose DAU are mostly highly educated (either formal or otherwise) from very diverse backgrounds in tech, machine learning, etc., etc.. It should come as no surprise that for any given topic there will be a ton of high quality and interesting points of view.

As for the statement 2): "will basically feel the same as I do now." To be completely honest, you probably will. Every new opportunity in life presents you with a chance to learn and while learning most people often realize how little they actually know. But that is why you are learning in the first place!

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody else feel overwhelmed while reading HN?

#46

Post by dcdanko »

inputcoffee wrote: post #39

Oh, you will feel much better once you have mastered: 1. Programming chips in binary, machine code, and C. You need a variety of chips. Try to learn at least 5 from each manufacturer. 2. Learn at least 37 Javascript frameworks, as evenly divided between front-end and server side as you can. (Good news: angular 1 and 2 count as 2 frameworks). 3. Learn Scala, Rust, Haskell, C, C#, Java. (Python and Ruby go without sayi…

A concise and useful list of suggestions.

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody else feel overwhelmed while reading HN?

#47

Post by Endama »

patio11 wrote: post #30

Attempting to be as accomplished/skilled as the union of people you read on the Internet is a fool's errand. You have to accept you'll never know everything and that, for almost all things, there will be someone -- or a lot of someones -- much better than you. Pretend you were working at a company with a hundred engineers. Do you understand how easy it is for every single one of them to simultaneously feel like you d…

This is an excellent exploration of Impostor Syndrome[1]. Thanks for sharing!

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody else feel overwhelmed while reading HN?

#48

Post by RandomOpinion »

> Anyway, back to the original question. Does anybody else come on here and feel overwhelmed?

No, or at least not much. Most people have a specialization or two, whether it be front-end, back-end, mobile, application, embedded, games, etc., which limits the scope of what you really need to care deeply about.

Beyond that, it's a matter of your own personal curiosity and desire to expand your abilities; my reaction to most articles is "hmm, that's interesting; I'll remember that in case I ever need it" with just a scant few meriting a "I need to dive into that because I also want to have that knowledge / skill."

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody else feel overwhelmed while reading HN?

#49

Post by gorbachev »

yeswecatan wrote: post #26
bingo_cannon wrote: post #7

I was overwhelmed at first. Every time a Show HN would pop up, I was amazed at how individuals could deliver on so much alone. So I accepted these things: - There will always be people who are better than you, in any field. I see it as a positive and a great learning opportunity. - There will never be time to learn everything you want to learn. The question I try to answer is: Am I doing the best I can at the moment?…

Complacency may be a blessing at this point. For years I had the mindset that it's a bad thing.

Do what makes you happy / keeps you and your family fed.

If complacency does that for you, then it's good. If not, it's not.

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody else feel overwhelmed while reading HN?

#50

Post by gorbachev »

inputcoffee wrote: post #39

Oh, you will feel much better once you have mastered: 1. Programming chips in binary, machine code, and C. You need a variety of chips. Try to learn at least 5 from each manufacturer. 2. Learn at least 37 Javascript frameworks, as evenly divided between front-end and server side as you can. (Good news: angular 1 and 2 count as 2 frameworks). 3. Learn Scala, Rust, Haskell, C, C#, Java. (Python and Ruby go without sayi…

You forgot entrepreneurial skills. Obviously at the top of that list should be the ability to raise funds from VCs.
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