Graph Theory is definitely a secret weapon I've used on numerous occasions. I would recommend Python's Networkx module if you find yourself staring at a graph problem.
Ask HN: What bits of fundamental knowledge are productivity multipliers?
281–290 of 424 posts
Re: Ask HN: What bits of fundamental knowledge are productivity multipliers?
#282Earlier quoted context omitted.
This. Which isn't to say that technical knowledge doesn't matter, it truly does. But, the primary problem in the industry right now is that the majority of finished code generated by professionals goes unused. The amount of waste is staggering. Working on the right thing is way more than a 10x multiplier.
Yes! I often tell people this in interviews and they act like I don’t have enough technical knowledge. The cult of Leetcode has made this so much worse. You rarely, if ever, need Leetcode. What you need is to understand deeply what you should be building so you don’t waste everyone’s time!
Part of the issue is that they often don't want you to decide what to build. They've separated out the "building" from the "deciding what to build", so hearing from a candidate that it's important to focus on what to do is off-putting to an organization that just wants you to munch through JIRA tickets all day and find technical solutions to whatever somebody else wants, and then keep a smile on as they change their mind and discard the feature.
Re: Ask HN: What bits of fundamental knowledge are productivity multipliers?
#283There is no list. It's not possible to say, "I know these 5 things, and they'll make me more productive." Feynman solved all his physics problems with Calculus. That's it. One tool. Part of is is knowing your tools. The other part is being able to see a problem, break it down, and understand how to manipulate it into something that's attainable. That's it. I worked with this guy Pat several years ago, and he was on a…
> This will be easy to remember. Lots of 3's." I looked at him for a moment puzzling his response. He says, "2745, lots of 3s."
I cannot for the life of me figure out what he means by this
Re: Ask HN: What bits of fundamental knowledge are productivity multipliers?
#284Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes! I often tell people this in interviews and they act like I don’t have enough technical knowledge. The cult of Leetcode has made this so much worse. You rarely, if ever, need Leetcode. What you need is to understand deeply what you should be building so you don’t waste everyone’s time!
Part of the issue is that they often don't want you to decide what to build. They've separated out the "building" from the "deciding what to build", so hearing from a candidate that it's important to focus on what to do is off-putting to an organization that just wants you to munch through JIRA tickets all day and find technical solutions to whatever somebody else wants, and then keep a smile on as they change their…
100%. Legacy company management finds software engineers who engage in the very relevant question of "what to build" extremely threatening. In my experience they actually treat software engineers who behave that way as disloyal.
As compared to places like tesla/shopify/etc where the Steve Jobs quote rules the roost:
It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.Re: Ask HN: What bits of fundamental knowledge are productivity multipliers?
#285All those little bits of knowledge are nice tools and patterns, they're definitely good to have. And if you have curiosity, you will naturally keep learning dozens of those over time. But they are not applicable everywhere, so you should not expect your 8 hour days to turn into 48 minutes because you started using regexes, dynamic programming, and search algorithms everywhere. The unlikable and unhelpful answer, but…
> The harsh reality is that there is no single thing a 1x person can do to become 10x. Any evidence for this? You may say there's no evidence that a 1x person can work up to 10x its performance, but stating it's impossible without evidence lacks merit.
There's no single thing.
Re: Ask HN: What bits of fundamental knowledge are productivity multipliers?
#286Regex has been very useful in my career. I would also add SQL as well.
Everything else on your list is highly domain specific and mostly useless outside of their domains.
> Calculus for solving all sorts of problems
I even like calculus, but the number of times i have used it in the tech industry is precisely zero (not counting big-oh notation which can be defined in terms of limits,because obviously that is not what is meant). There are specific domains where calculus comes in handy (i assume AI and graphics, im not really involved in either) but if you dont do that stuff its super useless.
Re: Ask HN: What bits of fundamental knowledge are productivity multipliers?
#287Earlier quoted context omitted.
Out of curiosity, was it a variable speed oscillating tool?
No, it was my impact drill I was under the fallacious understanding you only needed an impact drill if you were trying to remove really stuck-on nuts/bolts (like rusted lug nuts) As it turns out ... they're AMAZING for driving deck and roofing screws :)
Oh, cool, 100% agree, too! I switched to using star or square drive screws for putting the 1x4s on porches and stuff, that coupled with even a cheap impact driver means no more snapped screw heads, and i usually don't have to use the countersink bit i have.
I wonder if your logic was because of the larger pneumatic "tire gun" style things. Anyhow, sorry for going off topic!
Re: Ask HN: What bits of fundamental knowledge are productivity multipliers?
#288- Writing as form of (or tool for) thinking; Leslie Lamport said (maybe quoting someone) that if you're thinking, but not writing, you only think that you're thinking; - High tolerance for feeling ignorant, confused, silly, inadequate, a novice: none of these states should phase you: you should not have a comfort zone: let your mind feel at ease in not understanding something: go to the eye of the storm and weather i…
> High tolerance for feeling ignorant, confused, silly, inadequate, a novice: none of these states should phase you: you should not have a comfort zone: let your mind feel at ease in not understanding something: go to the eye of the storm and weather it: you'll come out being more capable; I’d love to be more at ease on uncomfortable situations. Any tips?
For me it's practicing art.
Mainly playing music with a group, sometimes writing and occasionally drawing or painting. It focuses me on the emotional experience and response to entering the unknown and finding flow there
There's a book called Art and Fear that nails the tao of it.
Re: Ask HN: What bits of fundamental knowledge are productivity multipliers?
#289For me the most notable one is the adoption of a GTD system for task tracking, which I did in concert with two related changes: starting inbox zero, and switching from bookmarking-and-categorizing to clipping-for-search reference material.
I started each of these around 9 years ago now, and can't imagine going back. The greatest impact isn't even literally on "getting things done", but on the time when I'm not working. I don't have to hold things in my brain. When I'm not working, I can forget about all that stuff and actually rest, or focus on other things. And when it is time to work, it's all right there. (And by work, I don't just mean the 9-5, but essentially anything that needs to get done, vs recreation. Although I do also use it to remember things I'd like to do someday for fun—everything from books I'd like to read and movies I'd like to watch to things like taking golf lessons, or buying a new helmet.)
We also of course use project tracking software for work, but I find it extremely beneficial to have my own personal system as well. Everything goes in there, from large, ongoing projects to 'remember to switch the laundry over'.
I wrote a blog post a few years back describing what works for me[1]. For the most part it still applies. I use Evernote, but would probably look at something like Joplin if I were setting it up today. (And will probably migrate, someday.) About the only other significant difference is I do a lot less sending emails to evernote now, since the gmail 'snooze' feature is pretty convenient. I'll still do it in cases where I want to add some notes though.
One thing to be aware of is if you're used to a less structured system (a written agenda, sticky notes, marked-unread emails, etc.) this will take significant time to adapt to. It was my primary focus for the better part of a month just to get things set up in a way that felt good to me, and then another couple of months before it stopped feeling like extra work to make myself use the system. But in the years since then, I can't imagine having lived without it. (And I built a fairly successful company and had kids over that period.)
[1] https://www.tempestblog.com/2017/08/16/how-i-stay-organized-...
Re: Ask HN: What bits of fundamental knowledge are productivity multipliers?
#290Earlier quoted context omitted.
This. Which isn't to say that technical knowledge doesn't matter, it truly does. But, the primary problem in the industry right now is that the majority of finished code generated by professionals goes unused. The amount of waste is staggering. Working on the right thing is way more than a 10x multiplier.
> the majority of finished code generated by professionals goes unused What are you referring to?
I'm referring to how companies ignore the thorny problem of what to build and instead focus on getting "Something done", which results in delivery of product increment that users at best say "meh" to, and don't use.
As an aside, from a developers perspective, all of the work is clearly valuable, I mean they got paid 300k+. But from a true definition of value perspective, the change increment is just not valuable to the users as evidenced by the lack of use.
Value: Reliable fulfillment of needs