Listen to Bach! Improve the overall wealth of your mind.
Ask HN: What audio resources can improve my technical skills during my commute?
51–60 of 97 posts
Re: Ask HN: What audio resources can improve my technical skills during my commute?
#52How about the audio book of Deep Work by Cal Newport?
Seconded. I've only just started it, but it really resonates with me so far. It is about how to better use time / avoid distraction.
Re: Ask HN: What audio resources can improve my technical skills during my commute?
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you recommend any minimalist classical music (other than Arvo Part) please? Not bland, it can be sensual like Gnossienne or dramatic as... tabula rasa? My main issue with most classical music is that they feel too heavy and I feel physically sick.
Not sure what you mean by "heavy", but you might give Vivaldi a try; start with the Four Seasons. It's not minimalist, but it's much lighter than e.g. Beethoven, and not as "serious" as e.g. Bach.
The idea of Bach as always being "serious" is really untrue. Source: me! I make actual money singing Bach.
Re: Ask HN: What audio resources can improve my technical skills during my commute?
#54Re: Ask HN: What audio resources can improve my technical skills during my commute?
#55I used to commute in silence or listening to the radio for my daily Silicon Valley drive (237 Milpitas to Mountain View), and by the time I got to work, I'd be angry, frustrated, and cognitively spent. Listening to audio books has allowed me to relax, enjoy the reading, and get to work excited about the day. I treat the time as a chance to "read" those books which I wouldn't normally spend either my work hours nor my…
Thinking Fast and Slow was really good, I've listened to it a couple of times. As a framework for thinking about working and learning it really clicked with me. I think I've been gently influenced by this book in many ways, including how I set my expectations about other people, and what "system" they might be employing at any moment. This has helped reduce my overall stress levels and increased my patience with myself and others. Even if the science isn't 100% perfect (is it ever?), these are usable models that approximate behavior and can be practical when taken with a grain of salt.
Re: Ask HN: What audio resources can improve my technical skills during my commute?
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
These replies are unhelpful and off topic. Author asked for technical resources, not a bunch of opinions about why they are wrong to want this and what they should do instead.
Inevitably other people besides OP will be curious about things to do during their commute and might stumble in here with less specific criteria.
Inevitably other people and OP will not care about off-topic things
Re: Ask HN: What audio resources can improve my technical skills during my commute?
#57https://www.google.ca/search?q=instructional+podcasts&oq=ins...
I'm not sure Google is good at surfacing quality recommendations as HN users.
wrong for general inquiries, I agree for specific ones. I responded to him as a general wish to learn, not a special one like coding or math
Re: Ask HN: What audio resources can improve my technical skills during my commute?
#58Prolonged exposure to sound delivered through earbuds could affect hearing. How do you listen to audiobooks without damaging your hearing?
Re: Ask HN: What audio resources can improve my technical skills during my commute?
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure what you mean by "heavy", but you might give Vivaldi a try; start with the Four Seasons. It's not minimalist, but it's much lighter than e.g. Beethoven, and not as "serious" as e.g. Bach.
The idea of Bach as always being "serious" is really untrue. Source: me! I make actual money singing Bach.
Indeed there is a great deal of joie de vivre to be found within the music.
However I find it very difficult not to listen intently to Bach. And I mean that in a good way, but disqualifies his work from being my "working background" music. My pick for programming music is the complete Mozart symphonies. They're also works of genius, but I can be in their presence without my mind being constantly drawn to them and away .
I also go for the Renaissance lute works of John Dowland. In many ways the pop music of the day (and noticeably less sophisticated than the baroque that immediately followed) this somehow puts me in the right mood for UI design.
Re: Ask HN: What audio resources can improve my technical skills during my commute?
#60[deleted]