Ask HN: What things do you wish you discovered earlier? • Hacker News Board

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

#151

Post by ljf » Tue, Sep 10, 2019, 11:41 AM UTC

sharadov wrote: post #14

Thinking strategically from a career and life perspective. Managing your investments Eating right and exercise Risk Taking - take big risks early in your life, ones which have the biggest upside. The terror of the unknown and leaping into it and coming out at the other end multiple times makes you fearless. The journey is all that matters, the destination is not in your hand. But the journey teaches a lot. Some of th…

I wish I'd learnt about investing before I was in my late 30s - and same about value of a good pension. Still - it is never too late.

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

#152

Post by adipandas » Tue, Sep 10, 2019, 11:41 AM UTC

I should have known before was engineering in Computer Science rather than in Mechanical will help me a lot. Nothing too harsh, but I realized coding is fun very late.

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

#153

Post by once_inc » Tue, Sep 10, 2019, 11:45 AM UTC

Pepe1vo wrote: post #141

donatj wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any recommendations? I’ve read a ton of Arthur C. Clarke in my teens, I’d love to branch out.

I immensely enjoyed Children of Time by Tchaikovsky, coincidentally winner of the 2016 Arthur C. Clarke award :)

So did I, but I wouldn't classify it as hard sci-fi. Too many things left unexplained for that.

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

#154

Post by once_inc » Tue, Sep 10, 2019, 11:48 AM UTC

donatj wrote: post #132

ian0 wrote: post #131

Hard Sci-fi. Holy crap it just overdelivers. In addition to entertainment, a way to take my mind off things, it also delivers context to daily life and keeps me focussed on trying to deliver something truly worthwhile.

Any recommendations? I’ve read a ton of Arthur C. Clarke in my teens, I’d love to branch out.

The Red Mars trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson. All of terraforming Mars in a hefty triple-tomed story that leaves naught unexplained.

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

#155

Post by tommaho » Tue, Sep 10, 2019, 11:48 AM UTC

patrickxie wrote: post #52

tommaho wrote: post #41

Awareness that periods of high performance are not 'free'. How to leverage that balance. Curiosity and aptitude for math. I've found this about 25 years too late for it to make much of a difference.

Can you elaborate more on the first sentence?

Sure, an understanding that I have a closed, fixed pool of resources to balance between efforts.

My personal model is mind / body / spirit (or mental / physical / artistic). I've learned through failure that high and exceptional performance in one direction draws fuel from the other(s).

If my performance is out of balance for a long enough period, I seem to accrue a kind of debt repaid over periods of burnout and depression.

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

#156

Post by akachick115 » Tue, Sep 10, 2019, 11:49 AM UTC

Thank you for the recommendation

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

#157

Post by rezeroed » Tue, Sep 10, 2019, 11:50 AM UTC

otras wrote: post #5

Learning How To Learn ( https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn ) and Barbara Oakley's book A Mind For Numbers . Completely changed my approach to studying and learning, and my academic efforts after taking it were tremendously better than before. Also related: highly recommend Anki. It feels like magic when the spaced repetition works!

Which tools do you use for anki? Make your own decks?

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

#158

Post by akecew » Tue, Sep 10, 2019, 11:55 AM UTC

haii

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

#159

Post by nestorherre » Tue, Sep 10, 2019, 12:01 PM UTC

-Having a morning routine

-Meditation

-Reading consistently

-Importance of sleep (fixed my sleeping issues with CBT-I [cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia])

-Value of joining a leadership/self development group like Toastmasters

-Accepting you for who you are, and work with your strengths

-Stop listening to what people say/advice about your life, most of the time they're wrong and you know better.

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

#160

Post by aequitas » Tue, Sep 10, 2019, 12:03 PM UTC

molteanu wrote: 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.

Expensive ones will ruin them just as well, for me the size matters a lot. I love Apple products but I can't stand their mice. They are just too small. The previous model (with the knob) and the current touch models are just instant CTS inducers for me (same as typing while standing, wrists bent). I stuck with large mice (Logitech gamer mice) and good touchpad (Apple) for the last few years and haven't had any issues since.