Self-hypnosis. You can learn the basics in less than an hour and it can be an amplifier for most other things.
Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
151–160 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#152Off-topic:
Since you left 'valuable' intentionally vague, I asked myself what the value of a piece of knowledge would be.
So I quickly came up with a simple model. Just take the integral of the value you get from this piece of knowledge over time, I thought. This helps you measure if a one-time payoff of knowledge A is better than the repeated payoff of knowledge B. Then I realized gauging value is more nuanced. How to model the value of things that are less tangible like insurance? The Heimlich maneuver may have a really high value in the case that my friend chokes, but very low value otherwise.
But this kind of knowledge is harder to focus on when we measure our knowledge by some simple value model. Surely you didn't expect an answer to "the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour" to be about what the best kind of insurance you should get?
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#153I would suggest learning juggling a basic 3 ball cascade. It’s great for training concentration and coordination, and also quite addictive.
I learned this back in the early 2000's because I moved to a new city, didn't have a cellphone, and was waiting for my landline and internet to be hooked up. So I literally knew no one and had no contact with the outside world. Then, seriously, I happened to find a set of juggling balls in the back of the closet of the room I was renting—the previous tenant must have forgotten them there.
With literally nothing else to do, I taught myself to juggle. Took me longer than an hour, but not all that much longer. (Started with one ball tossing back and forth, then two, before moving to three.)
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#154Double entry bookkeeping.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#155Some years ago, I learned how to tie my shoes from this video https://www.ted.com/talks/terry_moore_how_to_tie_your_shoes. I believe those 3 minutes were among the best time investments I've ever made.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#156People think touch typing takes a long time to learn, and getting good does take a while, but it only takes about an hour to memorize the alphanumerics and which finger types what well enough to break the hunt and peck looking at the keyboard cycle forever. Once the cycle is broken just typing casually is enough to eventually achieve mastery. It's only that one or two hours that really suck, and then that week or so…
If you use a computer in any way in the course of your job or daily life, touch typing is the single biggest improvement in productivity and quality of life that you can make. It is SO much faster and easier than hunt and peck.
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#157How, and why, to invest in a simple portfolio of index funds. Split between equity and fixed income based on your risk tolerance, and diversify equities globally. This will give you a low-cost, set-and-forget investment portfolio that you can add to over time without ever having to worry about what you should buy or what the market might do. Just add to it regularly over time, and end up with solid retirement savings…
Jack Bogle did not advocate for adding international equities to a portfolio as a means of diversification. [1] [1] https://www.morningstar.com/articles/885739/why-jack-bogle-d...
The fact that the Bogleheads forum is a useful source of information doesn't imply that Jack Bogle was right about everything.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#158If you're going overseas, learn a little bit of the local language. 1. Hello 2. Goodbye 3. Please 4. Thank you 5. Me 6. You 7. Him/her 8. This 9. That 10. Here 11. There 12. Do you have this? 13. Where is this? 14. How much money is that? 15. Where is the toilet? 16. Digits (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9) You'll be surprised how much of the language you pick up naturally just by memorising some basic words and using them.
Excellent list! I'd also recommend adding "What is this?" to the list, and for extra credit, do some research on the vernacular / polite way to address strangers in public ("Excuse me" also works for this in a pinch, although not in all cultures!).
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#159If you have to work with the linux or mac command line at all as part of your job, 'sed' and 'awk' are 2 commands that will boost your productivity hugely.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#160People think touch typing takes a long time to learn, and getting good does take a while, but it only takes about an hour to memorize the alphanumerics and which finger types what well enough to break the hunt and peck looking at the keyboard cycle forever. Once the cycle is broken just typing casually is enough to eventually achieve mastery. It's only that one or two hours that really suck, and then that week or so…
If you use a computer in any way in the course of your job or daily life, touch typing is the single biggest improvement in productivity and quality of life that you can make. It is SO much faster and easier than hunt and peck.
Agreed. Touch typing + learning vim changed the way I work and boosted productivity to another level