Stop reading this blog and learn something • Hacker News Board

Re: Stop reading this blog and learn something

#11

Post by Stwerner » Fri, Dec 30, 2011, 4:25 PM UTC

artursapek wrote: post #7

I don't know why he pushed you should learn "the popular one" so hard, unless he meant that ironically. There's no way to choose the most popular language from PHP, Ruby, and Python. I do agree on books vs. blogs though. When I started learning Python as my first real language this summer the best source I ended up learning from was LPTHW[1] (I used the free online edition). I think a book like that is a good tool fo…

I think that was his way of saying just pick one. Whichever one seems to you like the most popular, go with that. Because it doesn't really matter which you choose, what matters is that you start.

Re: Stop reading this blog and learn something

#12

Post by systemizer » Fri, Dec 30, 2011, 4:36 PM UTC

SkyMarshal wrote: post #6

raganwald wrote: post #2

I recall having a similar epiphany about the value of books when you need to learn something new. There’s a tendency to believe that all information is equally valuable. Therefore, an hour spent reading about, say CoffeeScript in blogs is equivalent to an hour spent reading a CoffeeScript book, only the blogs are free, immediate, and more entertaining. The last bit is the key. They reason that blog posts are more ent…

Agreed. Books are also the result of much more time and effort spent thinking about, planning, and evolving the content, structure, presentation. A book-length collection of blog posts just won't have the attention to detail and completeness that most books do. I also believe books improve one's ability to concentrate, which directly benefits a programmer's ability to get into and stay in flow. Whereas blog posts are…

However, you have to careful about reading books on technology. It is very possible that the technology has changed since the book was published. There are some technologies I would read books for and some technologies that I would read the online documentation and blogs.

Re: Stop reading this blog and learn something

#13

Post by Jun8 » Fri, Dec 30, 2011, 4:47 PM UTC

Simple:

Phase I: Print this out, have it framed (with non-gloss glass) and hang it on the wall where you can easily see while you code.

Phase II: A day will come when, while reading this, you will chuckle to yourself and mutter, "I, too, was like that". Then remove it from the wall and pass it on to another noob.

I'm still in Phase I, but have become conscious of this, which is an indication that I may be moving, albeit very slowly, to the second phase.

Re: Stop reading this blog and learn something

#14

Post by drunkenmasta » Fri, Dec 30, 2011, 4:56 PM UTC

Author accurately describes the cycle I go through in trying to keep up with technology changes. If I want to make an iPhone app well first let me pick up a book on design so I can make it visually pleasing. ohh wow this psychology stuff is interesting I think Ill read some of that. man wasnt I supposed to be programming? better pick up a book on how to get stuff done." I think the author is on to something when he suggests immediately applying what you are learning to a real world project. I can read a book on HTML and think I know what is going on until I close the book and try it out. Same with Chemistry or this or that. The best way to learn a new skill is to apply it immediately.

Re: Stop reading this blog and learn something

#15

Post by ohgodthecat » Fri, Dec 30, 2011, 5:10 PM UTC

rams wrote: post #10

raganwald wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As has been noted repeatedly: “To Mock a Mockingbird” by Raymond Smullyan. It’s one of the finest mathematics/logic books ever written for the intelligent layman. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0192801422?ie=UTF8&tag=... (Yes, that’s an affiliate code. Strip it out and replace with your favourite charity. “Raganwald" is an acceptable answer for “favourite charity.”)

Seems to be out of print on Amazon. Most sellers don't ship to foreign countries. Tough luck for people like me.

If you can't find it anywhere for cheaper (like me) buy it from here: http://www.bookdepository.com/Mock-Mockingbird-Raymond-Smull...

They ship to a very large amount of places for free. My only complaint is that because it is shipping from another country it takes a while to get to you and you don't get any tracking codes from them.

Re: Stop reading this blog and learn something

#16

Post by gruseom » Fri, Dec 30, 2011, 5:35 PM UTC

SkyMarshal wrote: post #6

raganwald wrote: post #2

I recall having a similar epiphany about the value of books when you need to learn something new. There’s a tendency to believe that all information is equally valuable. Therefore, an hour spent reading about, say CoffeeScript in blogs is equivalent to an hour spent reading a CoffeeScript book, only the blogs are free, immediate, and more entertaining. The last bit is the key. They reason that blog posts are more ent…

Agreed. Books are also the result of much more time and effort spent thinking about, planning, and evolving the content, structure, presentation. A book-length collection of blog posts just won't have the attention to detail and completeness that most books do. I also believe books improve one's ability to concentrate, which directly benefits a programmer's ability to get into and stay in flow. Whereas blog posts are…

How do you find the support for pdfs?

Re: Stop reading this blog and learn something

#17

Post by ionfish » Fri, Dec 30, 2011, 5:53 PM UTC

llambda wrote: post #3

raganwald wrote: post #2

I recall having a similar epiphany about the value of books when you need to learn something new. There’s a tendency to believe that all information is equally valuable. Therefore, an hour spent reading about, say CoffeeScript in blogs is equivalent to an hour spent reading a CoffeeScript book, only the blogs are free, immediate, and more entertaining. The last bit is the key. They reason that blog posts are more ent…

> For example, my essays about Combinators and Ruby might make you interested in Combinators enough to read a real book about them Mind suggesting such a book? :)

Hindley and Seldin's Lambda-Calculus and Combinators: An Introduction is pretty solid.

http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item1175709/?site...

Re: Stop reading this blog and learn something

#18

Post by avdi » Fri, Dec 30, 2011, 6:02 PM UTC

artursapek wrote: post #7

I don't know why he pushed you should learn "the popular one" so hard, unless he meant that ironically. There's no way to choose the most popular language from PHP, Ruby, and Python. I do agree on books vs. blogs though. When I started learning Python as my first real language this summer the best source I ended up learning from was LPTHW[1] (I used the free online edition). I think a book like that is a good tool fo…

I deliberately used a dated example because I figure it would probably ring a bell with a lot of people. Realistically this is a choice a lot of people were probably making around 5 years ago, and the answer at the time would almost undoubtedly have been PHP. Or Java/JSP. From what I've seen I think PHP is a pretty horrid language, and we all know how boring Java is. But the point is five years ago they were both well documented and it was easy to find answers if you got stuck, which wasn't as true of the others, especially for web programming purposes. Once you learned PHP it would have been pretty easy to understand where Rails or Django was coming from as they became popular, and "get" how they differed from PHP and why it mattered.

Re: Stop reading this blog and learn something

#19

Post by avdi » Fri, Dec 30, 2011, 6:09 PM UTC

systemizer wrote: post #12

SkyMarshal wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Books are also the result of much more time and effort spent thinking about, planning, and evolving the content, structure, presentation. A book-length collection of blog posts just won't have the attention to detail and completeness that most books do. I also believe books improve one's ability to concentrate, which directly benefits a programmer's ability to get into and stay in flow. Whereas blog posts are…

However, you have to careful about reading books on technology. It is very possible that the technology has changed since the book was published. There are some technologies I would read books for and some technologies that I would read the online documentation and blogs.

There is definitely such a thing as a book that was released too early.

Re: Stop reading this blog and learn something

#20

Post by gerggerg » Fri, Dec 30, 2011, 6:15 PM UTC

Here's my manifesto for learning:

    1)Be inspired to build something.
    2)Pick a tool you think might work.
    3)Build it.
    4a) Success? Go to 1.
    4b) Failure? Go to 1.