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Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier?

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101–110 of 253 posts

Re: Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier?

#101
post #2

That cheap mice and keyboards will ruin ones hands beyond repair after years of heavy use. Don't be that person. Learn to type and invest in your hardware early on.

Do you have specific suggestions re: peripherals. I've been using the Logitech MX Vertical Wireless lately and it's been a huge improvement from my previous bulky Logitech G600. I'm wondering if there are keyboard set-ups people really like? I'm enjoying my Gigabyte mechanical keyboard, but would be willing to give it up for something that'll let me get more mileage out of my hands/arms.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier?

#102
Nice job on Internal family systems OP! I'm not there quite yet but getting close

- TypeScript : Absolute game changer for JS. I can't imagine programming regular ES. Sort of hoping TypeScript becomes the next ES.

- Desktops : Desktop processors and video cards are insanely powerful compared to laptops. If you're doing any sort of compilation (even if it's webpack / frontend) this stuff helps a ton. A project that takes 90s to build on a mbp is 30s on a desktop.

- Windows 10 + WSL

- Attachment Theory: https://www.behaviorology.org/oldsite/pdf/AttachmentTheoryBe..., https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1d36/ac75d7081fcd86d467f6d2... (The stuff by Cindy Hazan and Philip Shaver are very relevant for adults)

- Schema Therapy: https://www.guilford.com/excerpts/young.pdf

Look up Psychology in Seattle on Patreon and download the deep dives for Attachment Theory and Schema Therapy. After that it's easier to grok the research papers/books.

Re: Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier?

#104
post #103

• Bread freezes and thaws really well, with little or no loss of texture and flavor. If I had found this out 35 years earlier, I probably would have replaced thousands of visits to fast food restaurants with sandwiches made at home.

What kind of bread? Homemade? Store-bought? Sandwich bread? Whole wheat? White? Does it matter?

Also, how do you thaw it?

Re: Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier?

#105
post #102

Nice job on Internal family systems OP! I'm not there quite yet but getting close - TypeScript : Absolute game changer for JS. I can't imagine programming regular ES. Sort of hoping TypeScript becomes the next ES. - Desktops : Desktop processors and video cards are insanely powerful compared to laptops. If you're doing any sort of compilation (even if it's webpack / frontend) this stuff helps a ton. A project that ta…

Do you mind sharing briefly what you got out of attachment theory and schema therapy? Or why are they worth a look?

Re: Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier?

#106
post #47
post #39

The absurdity of taking student loans for education

This is highly location dependent though. I just happened to notice that the interest on my Swedish student loan is 0.16% . That in combination with the income-indexed payback scheme and the fact that the loan balance is forgiven at age 65 makes it an absurdly good deal.

public loans in the US are forgiven after 10 years (PSLF), even if you're on a payment plan.

Re: Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier?

#107
post #2

That cheap mice and keyboards will ruin ones hands beyond repair after years of heavy use. Don't be that person. Learn to type and invest in your hardware early on.

Do you have specific suggestions re: peripherals. I've been using the Logitech MX Vertical Wireless lately and it's been a huge improvement from my previous bulky Logitech G600. I'm wondering if there are keyboard set-ups people really like? I'm enjoying my Gigabyte mechanical keyboard, but would be willing to give it up for something that'll let me get more mileage out of my hands/arms.

Kinesis Advantage. I bought one because my advisor had one. I got sticker shock. Spent a big chunk of my then salary on one. Spent a week getting used to it. After 10 years, it is safe to say I will use a Kinesis until I die. It's the perfect keyboard.

Re: Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier?

#108
post #56

No amount of telling yourself you're happy will make you happy. You can't just "make yourself happy", it's a side effect of other things you do in your life.

Yup. There was a recent guest on Tim Ferriss podcast - he was talking about depressed people, no amount of "you should be happy" or "there are people who have it much worse than you" is gonna help depressed people. It is only going to annoy them and drive them away. That said, there are people who use affirmations successfully to get out their misery. I dunno what to believe anymore

If you are not depressed (big if), and you're just going through the motions of life, you CAN make yourself happier just by reading the right material (e.g., Feeling Good, The Four Agreements) or yes, even affirmations. The happiness will last for about a day, in my experience. Then you can revisit the material.

Re: Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier?

#109
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it necessary to go through the entire Learning How to Learn course or is there a TL;DR somewhere?

I don't remember who posted it or if it's the same course, but https://workflowy.com/s/E9HW.jGUYboLrGj

Whoa cool these are the notes I put together. I'm glad someone remembered :)

Re: Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier?

#110
post #72

Meditation. Download a free 20-minute guided meditation and do it every day. Maybe at some point read "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hanh. I can provide a good guided breathing meditation on request. Meditation will help you be calm and focused. It will help you recognize and work through emotions with a minimum of harm to yourself or others. I'm definitely not advocating self-immolation, but the same tra…

I’d appreciate a link to a good guided breathing meditation
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