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Ask HN: Why can't I learn anymore?

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Re: Ask HN: Why can't I learn anymore?

#231

Post by lostcolony »

gilbetron wrote: post #204

The others are focusing on some things that it could be including demotivation, burnout, disinterest in learning something that is just a different version of what you already know, etc. Those are all definite possibilities. However, another thing that could be happening is that as you become more senior, you start being used to knowing things really deeply, and so when you learn something new two things happen. Firs…

I can echo this, and am of a similar age as the OP. Even things I feel excited about learning are chores now, simply because my expectations are grok it quickly and be productive. The act of being bad at it, not understanding something, having to look things up, not having the full shape of everything in my head and so sometimes having to cargo cult it until some later date when it'll make sense, etc, are alien and exhausting now. It's hard to pour myself into something I'm "bad" at, when there are other things I know I'm "good" at.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I learn anymore?

#232

Post by lostcolony »

lupire wrote: post #142
gjadi wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In addition, it can also because the more experienced we get, the more we forget about the initial struggle we had to overcome to become experienced. When we develop expertise, we go deeper and deeper, each new learning experience reinforce our previous knowledge. But when we have to operate a paradigm shift, we don't go deeper, it's a lateral movement. We start back at the beginning. For some people it's the other w…

I don't remember forgetting things as soon as I learned them, when I was a kid. I grew knowledge quite rapidly. Now I can re read the same thing every week and re "learn" it.

Make sure you're getting enough sleep, and carving out enough focus time. What I've realized is that while my current situation on either of those is not much different than when I was younger, my ability to learn and get by with minimal sleep and amidst distraction has gotten worse.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I learn anymore?

#233

Post by rufugee »

germs12 wrote: post #163
trevormcneal wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Notice the fast decline in the last 20 years? Even active X was less crappy than the most well-polished actual react project, and active X was crap. Even java applets did more and in an easier way than modern frameworks and JS shit. One simple page, with login, logout, some search, and navigation nowadays require a few plugins, router, state management, lib for requests, lib to handle cookies, lib for JWT, etc...

Rails does 95% of this out of the box. Companies need to understand how much their poor technology decisions cost them...

As someone who recently returned to Rails after 7 years of searching for a better option, I totally agree. For the types of problems I solve (not FAANG problems), Rails is the by far the most productive option. Not perfect, mind you, but better than anything else I've run across.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I learn anymore?

#234

Post by rightbyte »

helge9210 wrote: post #198
trevormcneal wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the whole tech thing is changing fast, ageism is a true thing, in a scenario where most of the previous knowledge can be ignored, being a senior with 5 years of experience, 10 or 20 doesn't change much. Given that young people usually simp for the companies much more due to being naive, they have a huge preference in the hiring process. Tech is removing the root of the knowledge, migrating from understanding the solu…

Half life of knowledge in our profession is more or less a year and a half. This means 5 years of experience is the maximum you can accumulate. Maybe years are not a good metric for experience.

Do you mean as in you forget or that new ways to do stuff are reinvented?

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I learn anymore?

#236

Post by evilbob93 »

helge9210 wrote: post #198
trevormcneal wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the whole tech thing is changing fast, ageism is a true thing, in a scenario where most of the previous knowledge can be ignored, being a senior with 5 years of experience, 10 or 20 doesn't change much. Given that young people usually simp for the companies much more due to being naive, they have a huge preference in the hiring process. Tech is removing the root of the knowledge, migrating from understanding the solu…

Half life of knowledge in our profession is more or less a year and a half. This means 5 years of experience is the maximum you can accumulate. Maybe years are not a good metric for experience.

... and?

I agree that years aren't necessarily a good metric for experience, although I have decades in IT - started when I was 19 and retirement is a real thing I have to consider.

Years do give you some experience that isn't translatable to the resume: after a while, you've seen through most of the tricks that management likes to try but which the younger colleagues haven't learned. Having older folks around can spoil the surprise.

My personal theory of the roots of ageism has this as a pillar.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I learn anymore?

#237

Post by groenendael »

Don't forget that hormones change starting mid-30s. Fatigue and energy levels can be affected due to lower testosterone, or from just years of sitting in chairs. Also, don't forget we're coming out a pandemic that really put us into isolation... maybe not as noticeable for those of us that tend to work in isolation anyhow, but it can have an unrealized toll.

I'm 41 and going through a divorce, so I have a distraction that carries over into everything else. But, I'm now also freed up to go do the things that I haven't been able to enjoy in years because of obligations or trying to make someone else happy. I've been able to go out on weekends exploring or camping, joining up with friends and reestablishing connections, and now have a puppy that is forcing a little more structure into areas of my life that I became overly relaxed in (plus his unconditional love is soothing).

Another thing to consider is just the amount of tangential stress in our lives from seemingly one bad thing to another: politics, the economy, foreign affairs, social media, etc.

Really, I don't think there's one single thing to point to but a conglomeration of many things. I try to focus on what can be controlled and let go of the things that I can't.

Things that have helped me in the past when I'm in a rut include: taking up a new hobby (I find woodworking enjoyable because it's more physical; cooking is another great choice too), learning a new programming language (I learn ideas that can be fun to experiment with or incorporate into my daily work), traveling nearby (get a Hipcamp glamping spot with a minimal of fuss; get away from things for a bit; clear the head, feel your body), explore a new book genre (I've been slowly getting into audio books), volunteer work (I joined my neighborhood HOA and try to bring my experience into solving little problems that others don't have the experience with; though there is the occasional neighbor drama, I'm on good terms with everyone and have regular and good conversations with neighbors while out walking or working in my yard).

Anyhow, this is all to say that I think that as we age and mature in our careers, these ruts we find ourselves in require a more "holistic" approach to finding a way out.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I learn anymore?

#238

Post by bluefirebrand »

brimble wrote: post #224
FractalHQ wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you think of Svelte? I haven’t used Vue since I discovered Svelte but I’m always curious about peoples perspectives and try to keep my finger on the pulse. The new Nuxt looks pretty awesome! Love the api design. I’m hoping Sveltekit steals a few ideas from it before 1.0.

I looked at it the other day after the discussion thread about JS frameworks, but bounced when I saw ".svelte" files. I accept (demand, really) TypeScript but I've become allergic to any attempt to add much more on top of JS than that. I can just see the next poor bastard coming along in a short year or two and going "oh god, WTF is a '.svelte' file? What did my piece of shit predecessor fall for?" I'm looking into V…

Things like .vue and .svelte are really more like hints to your Editor for which linter to use, which code highlighting etc. Also your build chain I guess.

I'll admit it's annoying but it's still just "normal-ass code". Vue, for instance, is just html, JavaScript and css. A .vue file is just all three in one file with special syntax to indicate each section.

At least, last I looked at vue it was.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I learn anymore?

#239

Post by kraig911 »

I'm in the same boat. I don't have an answer I just think it's the state of the web industry. I feel like every project on the outset we're going to build a rocker to mars when we really just need to make a car to get around town.

Worked at a startup with the most complicated possible software architecture just for an extremely simple product. There's a lot of mentality of just because it's possible we should plan for it. I want to work for a place where simple and less cheeseburger is preferred over an everything burger.

Re: Ask HN: Why can't I learn anymore?

#240

Post by bradstewart »

brimble wrote: post #224
FractalHQ wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you think of Svelte? I haven’t used Vue since I discovered Svelte but I’m always curious about peoples perspectives and try to keep my finger on the pulse. The new Nuxt looks pretty awesome! Love the api design. I’m hoping Sveltekit steals a few ideas from it before 1.0.

I looked at it the other day after the discussion thread about JS frameworks, but bounced when I saw ".svelte" files. I accept (demand, really) TypeScript but I've become allergic to any attempt to add much more on top of JS than that. I can just see the next poor bastard coming along in a short year or two and going "oh god, WTF is a '.svelte' file? What did my piece of shit predecessor fall for?" I'm looking into V…

I generally agree with your don't "add much more on top of JS" sentiment, but I like .vue files. It's "just" HTML, CSS, and JS in one file, which I find convenient for components. But it's optional--you're free to use three separate files.
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