If you're single, dating. Especially online dating. Depending on you upbringing, this is similar to personal finance, where nobody really teaches you what to do, and there's a lot of "seduction" or "red pill" toxic nonsense out there. Dating is also a relatively recent modern construct, and it's a skill that doesn't come naturally. There's a certain etiquette to it that might vary from place to place and in time you're in. But generally, it's about keeping it simple to start out with, getting more adventurous as dates progress, and being assertive, organized, and clear in your communication, while trying to forge a genuine connection with someone. It can also equip you to handle other emotional rollercoasters you might encounter.
Ask HN: What are good life skills for people to learn?
211–220 of 277 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are good life skills for people to learn?
#212For me, excluding the obvious ones like driving is dressing up nicely. Although I value ones looks less as I grow older, since appearance is transient (someone can be having a bad day), I appreciate the skill needed to combine an outfit, which I lack and can't fathom.
By nicely I don't mean like for a wedding or expensively, just plain nicely with your day-to-day apparel. Combine garment styles and colors and subtle details. I have a feeling I would have it easier on some occasions if I just payed attention to how I look instead of just making sure my weewee isn't in the open and the cloths covering me are clean. When I do try, I turn out looking goofy so I stick to my plain, bland, inoffensive elements.
Re: Ask HN: What are good life skills for people to learn?
#213I haven't seen knots mentioned yet. Learning a few basic knots from different categories may only be occasionally useful, but on those occasions it can be quite valuable and rewarding. Practicing knot tying requires minimal resources, and it can be a great activity to wind down at the end of the day.
Oh yeah, great one. I love knots. When I don’t have a technical puzzle to mull over while drifting off to sleep I like to visualise knots - it’s surprisingly tricky to follow along without a line in your hand. Everyone should learn the bowline because it gives you a lot of bang for buck. One I discovered on the brilliant website below that I’ve really come to love is the tumble hitch (quick release hitch on a bight).…
Thanks for the links, that's a cool site!
Re: Ask HN: What are good life skills for people to learn?
#2141. How to spend less than you earn. Lots of people desire “financial freedom”, meaning they can spend what they want when they want it. Solving this via revenue leads to the hedonic treadmill, and you’ll never out earn your growing wants. Instead solve this by controlling your wants, and you’ve achieved financial freedom immediately. 2. How to take risks. Finding the balance between recklessness and absolute risk avo…
In my view, risk is probability times impact. On average, risking a dollar and spending a dollar are equivalent.
Where I think we get risk wrong is how we estimate its magnitude, often due to emotional fear of loss, or underestimating our own ability to innovate our way out of problems.
Re: Ask HN: What are good life skills for people to learn?
#215Probably the most important skill people are skipping is etiquette. Which I think says a lot about HN. Communication (texting, listening, etc), maintaining and creating relationships, avoiding injury, relaxation, exercise, cooking, healthy eating, self defense, first aid, swimming, types of reading (fun, searching, learning), searching, separating truth from fiction, knowing when to seek help, a hobby, cleaning, main…
As someone who finds many "social etiquette" practices painful, cringe-worthy, and the cause of many communication breakdowns, I would actually like to learn more about the benefits of social etiquette, and how I can improve on it. Does anyone have any good resources to point me to?
Etiquette is a signal to others that you are a good person and follow the rules of society. This is extremely important in a world with an increasing population, in which you only have a few seconds of contact with most people. In these few seconds, people judge your character based on the only information they have available:
1. How you dress
2. How physically fit you are
3. How you conform to societal standards
I would argue that most people should not judge a person's character by 1 and 2 (although they are good measures of affluence). What is left is number 3.
If you are someone that breaks some small societal standards, how do I know you won't break larger ones? If we don't share the same assumptions on how we should behave, how can I possibly feel safe around you?
Re: Ask HN: What are good life skills for people to learn?
#216How to manage yourself when tragedy inevitably strikes How to take advantage of people... that way they are less likely to be taken advantage of Restraint enough that, though they know how, they don’t take advantage of others How to look for sense of self satisfaction within yourself rather than in the approval of others Not really a skill, but a habit of intense exercise at least 30m a day. Running and swimming are…
> How to manage yourself when tragedy inevitably strikes This is a place where, in my opinion, religion is seriously overlooked in modern culture. The times when my religious upbringing have been most useful to me have all been in the face tragedy.
I used to be religious, but I came to a point where I just didn't believe it anymore. Religion is no longer useful to me, not because it was ever real, but because I've convinced myself it's not real.
I've replaced it with philosophy and meditation-- it actually seems to do the job much better, and doesn't require any particular leaps in logic on my part.
Re: Ask HN: What are good life skills for people to learn?
#217Learning how to communicate well - how to get your point across, how to debate without shutting down, and listening. Especially verbally/face to face.
Re: Ask HN: What are good life skills for people to learn?
#218Probably the most important skill people are skipping is etiquette. Which I think says a lot about HN. Communication (texting, listening, etc), maintaining and creating relationships, avoiding injury, relaxation, exercise, cooking, healthy eating, self defense, first aid, swimming, types of reading (fun, searching, learning), searching, separating truth from fiction, knowing when to seek help, a hobby, cleaning, main…
As someone who finds many "social etiquette" practices painful, cringe-worthy, and the cause of many communication breakdowns, I would actually like to learn more about the benefits of social etiquette, and how I can improve on it. Does anyone have any good resources to point me to?
Miss Manners' books/articles are good.
Re: Ask HN: What are good life skills for people to learn?
#219- "Consumer science (a.k.a. home economics) as a college major" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17894550
In no particular order:
- Food science; Nutrition
- Family planning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_planning
- Personal finance (see the link above for resources)
- How to learn
- How to teach [reading and writing, STEM, respect, compassion]
- Compassion for others' suffering
- How to considerately escape from unhealthy situations
- Coping strategies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coping
- Defense mechanisms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_mechanism
- Prioritization; productivity
- Goal setting; n-year planning; strategic alignment
Life skills: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_skills
Khan Academy > Life Skills: https://www.khanacademy.org/college-careers-more
Re: Ask HN: What are good life skills for people to learn?
#220Earlier quoted context omitted.
Eh, isn't that why language was invented? Late Stephen Hawking would've had a hard time with body language and even intonation. Fortunately, we have words that convey exactly what we want.
> Fortunately, we have words that convey exactly what we want. Words can be just as fuzzy as body language. Sometimes, this can be done intentionally, for dramatic effect (e.g. "The duke yet lives that Henry shall depose"). English can have syntactic ambiguity, which limits the understanding of a phrase. In the sentence "I saw the man on the mountain with the telescope.", was I using a telescope to see the man on the…
Good answer! Wittgenstein’s philosophical work also adds an extra critique to this view of language.
[1] https://philosophyforchange.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/meaning...