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Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?

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Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?

#901

Post by hnick »

ken wrote: post #394
harrisonjackson wrote: post #16

CPR/Choking/First Aid course is probably close to an hour. How to change your own oil - probably lots of other money-saving home and auto DIY things... Speed reading and memory tricks can be a multiplier on learning other skills. How to use automation tools like Zapier and IFTTT - again, a force multiplier. You might be interested in this book https://www.amazon.com/First-20-Hours-Learn-Anything/dp/1591... - the auth…

> CPR/Choking/First Aid course is probably close to an hour. What can you teach in only an hour? I work with some people who teach basic first aid, and the shortest course any of them does is 4.5 hours.

They listed three things, and they're all different.

Choking & CPR in an hour - easily. When I did my course it was a few hours but in a smaller group there'd be no problem covering it in less time. Though to be fair, we did have to read a document and answer a 70 question assessment before being allowed in the room.

First Aid? Probably not. I did a full day course. Here in Australia that includes bandaging for snake bites, what to do for jellyfish (don't pee on it, thanks), how to handle crushing injuries, etc. Apparently in the US they focus more on weapon trauma wounds though we did a bit of that too.

Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?

#902

Post by RobertRoberts »

jodrellblank wrote: post #818
RobertRoberts wrote: post #176

How to cook for yourself, really, really good food. I no longer crave restaurant food, and all of the really important things I learned about cooking take just the time to read it, hear about it and then try it. All without any special hardware. A few examples: 1. Cooking jasmine rice: rinse it first, 1 c. water to 1 c. rice ratio. Bring to boil, turn down heat to lowest setting. Leave lid /the entire time/. Fluff th…

> Leave lid /the entire time/. Leave lid what the entire time? On? Off? Untouched? Steamed-up? Half-on? Cracked? Ajar? Weighed-down? I'm assuming "on", since I have cooked food before, but then how is there 12-15 min of cooking, 25% variation, if you're emphasizing "the entire time"? If you can't look at it or touch it until after it's done, and you can't tell when it's done by the time because the time varies, then…

I meant my comment as an introduction to the idea. But yes, leave it on. You can peak and test quick, but when I was starting out cooking rice I wasn't careful about the lid and ruined plenty of rice by letting too much steam out.

Yes, time varies, just wanted to layout how simple it can be to learn a useful skill in a short amount of time.

Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?

#903

Post by RobertRoberts »

dragonsngoblins wrote: post #896
RobertRoberts wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would add a few things I learned to improve your memory: 1. Care about the subject 2. Focus on memorizing it: This may seem dumb, but how many times have you forgot where you placed your keys? If all you do is momentarily state to yourself "I set my keys here" when you put them down, it's almost hard to forget. 3. Don't eat white sugar or white flour processed, or other foods that may cause you to loose concentrati…

I've always been confused by people talking about losing things like keys/wallet a lot. I take them out of my pockets and put them on a flat surface when I get home which means they are always in one of like 4 different places tops, but in two of them the vast majority of the time (dining table or desk). Surely there are natural places those things end up?

We have a similar technique, I put my stuff in the same place all the time. But only because I was sick of misplacing them for many years.

I think there are a lot of people that don't have tendencies towards systems/self rules to solve issues like this, so they casually smash through life care free and forget where they put their keys "this time". (based on many people I know)

Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?

#904

Post by shartshooter »

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.

Learning facts are great if you’ve got an hour but really understanding should take time.

I’d say if you have an hour that is free try to be completely independent of thought. No music no podcasts no interacting with(or influenced by) other peopl. Try to be present

Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?

#905

Post by RobertRoberts »

drabbiticus wrote: post #826
noomerikal wrote: post #817

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jasmine rice hack - put whatever amount of rice you want in the pot, level it off, place your index finger so it's barely touching the top of the rice and fill with water up to your first knuckle (the first crease on your finger, palm side).

You could call it a hack, but it's also the standard way that lots of asian families make rice if they don't have a rice cooker and how I've done it ever since moving into an apartment and didn't want a bulky machine in limited counter space. For a comedic take see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45wHe9KdmrQ for How to Cook Perfect Rice by Jo Koy

Very cool, I will have to try this as well as some of the other suggestions. Thanks guys!

Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?

#906

Post by phaemon »

mister_hn wrote: post #34
mk89 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. I would add -> understand how git works. The difference between merge and rebase, what Head is, what Tip is, etc.

that's out of 60 minutes time

No, it isn't; you can learn git internals in less the 60 mins. They are really simple. It's people's imagined model of how git works that is complicated so they assume git itself must also be complicated.

Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?

#907

Post by sincarne »

52-6F-62 wrote: post #780
reubenswartz wrote: post #730

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so important. I don't know if you can "learn to cook" in an hour, but you can probably drive to the store, buy some vegetables, come home, and make a great salad with an awesome homemade vinaigrette dressing in less than an hour. I try to eat fairly healthy, but having a salad that's easy to make that I actually crave (oh no, I've turned into an old person) most days at lunch is amazing. It's fast, and I have…

I regularly make my own dressing as well! I have a few basic recipes—most are pretty much the same as yours. One I like in the summer especially is a really simple one: + 2 parts olive oil + 1 part honey (try and make it good wildflower or clover honey) + 1 part squeezed lemon juice (add some zest as well if you're feeling energetic—I hate cleaning graters) + Salt & pepper to taste

I do something similar. Mine is olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a tsp of really strong mustard. I put mine in a small Tupperware in the fridge, that way I can shake it up easily to mix, and I just add to it as I get low.

Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?

#908

Post by monadgonad »

glofish wrote: post #847
ryanschneider wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a seriously overlooked application of this principle is in nutrition and dieting. Over- or under- eating by a small percentage of your required intake might not have a discernible effect immediately but really adds up over time, both for weight loss and gain.

It is not how it works at all. The fallacy here is that a human body is a machine with well-defined intake and output. How would one even know what is "exactly" the right amount? Over a year we consume 1 million calories. If one were just 0.1% off of systematically eating more (or less) than required then according to your model one would end up being 200 pounds fatter or 200 pounds leaner ... do you think that anyon…

It is exactly how it works, and you're taking "a small percentage" to a ridiculous degree to fallaciously disprove it. Try eating 10% more or less than what you need each day, not 0.1%.

Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?

#909

Post by ahmaman »

Jeff_Brown wrote: post #686
ahmaman wrote: post #450

Learn how to make good coffee - Here is for example how to make a great cup of coffee using an Aeropress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmjPjZZRhNQ&t=252s Learn the basics of economics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHe0bXAIuk0 Learn how to journal. Learn the basics of meditation. Learn how to learn stuff using flash cards - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzCEJVtED0U - I used this method to learn Finnish ( http…

I wish I had learned -- in fact I wish everybody learned -- labor economics before going to college. That we expect kids to make such a financially momentous decision without having any idea what they're doing is absolutely nuts. (Maybe read a microeconomics textbook first; labor economics is a specialization of that.)

Couldn't agree more! It's amazing how people can research the best gadget for days but when it comes to taking a mortgage its out of a sudden "I don't have time to research this"

Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?

#910

Post by AnnoyingSwede »

justinclift wrote: post #592

Soldering is a useful skill that's easy to learn the basics of, and can be done in an hour. You'll need to have bought a basic soldering kit before you get to it though. :)

I agree on this, but even better, stick welding. I learned how to stick-weld in my shower (since it was the only place i could do it without risking of burning down my apartment) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Ro9VqLwfU
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