C. I read K&R and did every exercise in it this year, and it really changed how I thought about programming, even in higher level languages. Specifically, I feel like it's made me a lot more considerate about algorithm design and detecting edge cases. More justification: https://blog.bradfieldcs.com/the-cost-of-forsaking-c-1139864...
Ask HN: What skills to acquire in 2019?
71–80 of 194 posts
Re: Ask HN: What skills to acquire in 2019?
#72The skill I am working on the hardest for 2019 is being able to put down my phone. Or more generally to stop the cycle of mindless addictive loops, checking for comments and upvotes on social media, endlessly refreshing forums, and so on. I’ve tried a few times over the past year to make headway on this and haven’t felt successful, so I’m redoubling and trying to deconstruct the concept a little, figure out some rule…
I've had a lot of success via Ulysses contracts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_pact
You're stuck in these loops through little fault of your own. Our environments are engineered to be very addicting; tech products train our brains to crave a quick hit of stimulus at the slightest hint of boredom.
Trying to fight against this with just willpower alone is an uphill battle. Willpower fluctuates throughout the day, and (supposedly) it is a finite resource per unit of time. You may win a few battles, but the strong cues in your environment remain, and will likely snare you next time around.
It's hard to resist the temptations because they are pleasurable and salient rewards in the here and now, in a way that longer-term, more abstract goals (read a book, stop wasting time on junk info-snacking, etc) can never be.
Ulysses contracts bridge this gap by pulling the longer-term, more abstract goals into the here and now, endowing them with an immediate saliency of their own. Now your new habits can fight on the same ground as your old habits.
Examples: the person who, in trying to quit smoking, gave a friend a check for $5k and promised that if she smoked again, she'd have to report herself to her friend, who would then donate that money to the KKK.
Examples of my own: - I jettisoned caffeine by promising my spouse that for every caffeinated drink I took, I had to give up in proportion something I love dearly (e.g. skip a day of meditation) - I cut down on online boardgaming by promising a friend that I would only play with him -- and should I play with an online stranger, my friend would receive $5k and proceed to squander it at the poker table. (Making the resulting outcome of your contract breach, something that stings, that is visceral and has an emotional valence to it, it key to making the contracts successful).
It also helps to engineer your environment. Remove the cues and temptations. I've had more mixed success with this. But quitting FB, Linkedin, definitely removed strong loops. (My brain fought like hell against their absence, then after the three week mark, never a peep again. Goes to show the arbitrariness of our cravings)
Re: Ask HN: What skills to acquire in 2019?
#73Interviewing. I spent about 3-4 months this year working on my interviewing and competitive programming skills via LeetCode, reading The Algorithm Design Manual, and taking classes at Bradfield School of CS in San Francisco. I feel like it's made a world of difference. I know Hacker News tends to hate on programming interviews, but it really pays to be good at them (and trust me, it's a learnable skill). I do agree t…
You spent 3-4 months honing your interview skills, that sounds very expensive.
Are you claiming that this practice made you a better programmer overall or just better at interviews?
It isn’t just hackernews hating on the current way of doing programming interviews, it’s a widespread sentiment in the industry. The current way of doing interviews seems both excessive (requires 2 months of practice) and easily games (with 2 months of practice...). Who is winning from this?
Re: Ask HN: What skills to acquire in 2019?
#74I hesitate answering because I am not really a software engineer, but I think a strong understanding of philosophy will probably help. I see a lot of other comments in this thread recommending empathy, organizing, hermeneutics, etc. Most of that goes under the admittedly large umbrella of philosophy. Software engineering/programming is somewhat distinct in most fields because you can by some abstraction recreate and…
Philosophy and functional programming are my most important skills.
Ontology and logic are super useful for a programmer.
Re: Ask HN: What skills to acquire in 2019?
#753 critical skills that will help you through out your life: 1. Learn to workout well - crossfit, hire a trainer, etc 2. Basic financial knowledge - investing, taxes, RSUs/Options, etc 3. Presentation skills - most of your career will be determined by how effectively you communicate, influence and persuade. Invest in it.
There’s a lot of better ways to work out than crossfit. But I agree with the basic premise! Learn the skill of lifting heavy things and running farther than you’re willing to walk.
I’d add to presentation skills: negotiation skills. I’ll recommend Chris Voss’ book “Never Split the Difference” as I have been to all my relatives this Christmas.
Re: Ask HN: What skills to acquire in 2019?
#76Interviewing. I spent about 3-4 months this year working on my interviewing and competitive programming skills via LeetCode, reading The Algorithm Design Manual, and taking classes at Bradfield School of CS in San Francisco. I feel like it's made a world of difference. I know Hacker News tends to hate on programming interviews, but it really pays to be good at them (and trust me, it's a learnable skill). I do agree t…
You spent 3-4 months honing your interview skills, that sounds very expensive. Are you claiming that this practice made you a better programmer overall or just better at interviews? It isn’t just hackernews hating on the current way of doing programming interviews, it’s a widespread sentiment in the industry. The current way of doing interviews seems both excessive (requires 2 months of practice) and easily games (wi…
Both - my interviewing skills got better mostly from doing mock interviews and exposure to the questions that would be asked during an interview, but I'd say my programming skills got better from learning more about algorithm and data structure design, as well as carefully thinking about edge cases so as to beat the battery of test cases that each LeetCode problem has.
Re: Ask HN: What skills to acquire in 2019?
#771. Learn Math required for ML/AI.
2. Learn to write deep content.
3. Learn to manage personal finances
4. Learn to invest
5. Learn to draw
6. Learn to sing
7. Learn to have proper 8 hours of sleep
8. Attempt to build a profitable startup again
Re: Ask HN: What skills to acquire in 2019?
#78WOW, VERY USEFUL -> Clojure <- MANY ADVANCES, SUCH PROFIT
Re: Ask HN: What skills to acquire in 2019?
#79Re: Ask HN: What skills to acquire in 2019?
#80Interviewing. I spent about 3-4 months this year working on my interviewing and competitive programming skills via LeetCode, reading The Algorithm Design Manual, and taking classes at Bradfield School of CS in San Francisco. I feel like it's made a world of difference. I know Hacker News tends to hate on programming interviews, but it really pays to be good at them (and trust me, it's a learnable skill). I do agree t…
Agreed! It's definitely annoying to train something which doesn't seem particularly related to our jobs, but it's worth the effort.
The career impact of becoming a better programmer or leader is tiny compared to the impact of moving to a better company.
If you're a free agent and you're not interested in interviewing or working for big companies, then I would say the top skills to learn are listening/negotiation and maybe time management, unless you're already great at those things. Same advice if you're already at one of the best companies and don't need to interview :)