Maybe you should learn something • Hacker News Board

Re: Maybe you should learn something

#131

Post by marginalia_nu » Sat, Jul 04, 2026, 3:15 PM UTC

MrScruff wrote: post #130

coderc wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would say that learning draws from the pool of "mental energy", but working out draws from the pool of "physical energy". Just because your brain is tired, it doesn't mean that your biceps are.

Yeah exactly. After a hard day when my brain is frazzled, a workout will actually make me feel better.

Probably good to align mental and physical tiredness. Being physically tired makes rest feel very good.

Being mentally worn out just kinda makes you feel like shit. It's a terrible state to be in, you don't want to do anything, but doing nothing also feels bad.

Re: Maybe you should learn something

#132

Post by bookofjoe » Sat, Jul 04, 2026, 3:18 PM UTC

dominotw wrote: post #104

marginalia_nu wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(Author of the post) For energy, it both requires and pays dividends. It's a bit like working out in that sense. I think my intended takeaway was that you really don't need to have make the thing you're studying take a lot of time, that daily consistency matters more than pouring hours into practice and obsessing about it. Though in general, I do still think it's the phones and media diet that is the problem with the…

working out in my 40s just makes me tired. used to energize me when i was younger. I have a feeling you are a young person :)

Just wait till you're in your late 70s...

Re: Maybe you should learn something

#133

Post by connerpocket » Sat, Jul 04, 2026, 3:23 PM UTC

This resonated with me, although my experience has been a little different.

I started playing pool in college around 2017 and, without really intending to, it became something I did at least once a week. I never had a structured practice routine or any goal of getting really good. I just enjoyed playing, and after enough years I realized I'd become a decent player.

I never gambled, but we usually played loser-pays, so every session still cost a bit. I'm unemployed right now, so I've stopped going because it just doesn't fit my budget anymore.

Re: Maybe you should learn something

#134

Post by storus » Sat, Jul 04, 2026, 3:26 PM UTC

MrScruff wrote: post #101

marginalia_nu wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(Author of the post) For energy, it both requires and pays dividends. It's a bit like working out in that sense. I think my intended takeaway was that you really don't need to have make the thing you're studying take a lot of time, that daily consistency matters more than pouring hours into practice and obsessing about it. Though in general, I do still think it's the phones and media diet that is the problem with the…

I think what the parent post was saying is that there is a finite amount of useful mental function time in any one day, and once you’ve exhausted this any attempted learning will be pretty inefficient. Also some jobs will have a faster burn rate. Doing a workout is separate as it doesn’t draw on the mental energy pool.

From my experience, workout draws exactly from the same pool as mental effort, so after a tough day at work/school, there is little left for a workout and vice versa. Instead of brain spending its energy on thinking, it spends it on muscle/movement coordination.

Re: Maybe you should learn something

#135

Post by khurs » Sat, Jul 04, 2026, 3:26 PM UTC

SoftTalker wrote: post #127

khurs wrote: post #49

The education system is to blame. Kids are conditioned to associate learning with a formal course with a tutor culminating in exams. It's also intentional to segregate skills, if schools taught every child basic plumbing or car mechanics for example instead of spending a month teaching something that won't get used in life, there would be less job in those fields.

So there's a conspiracy between plumbers, mechanics, and public schools to not teach basic handyman skills to the students? We used to have "shop" (or similarly named) classes for this in junior high/middle school. They have mostly been cut, but more for budgetary reasons. A lot of high schools still have a vocational department for the kids who are not college-bound and not complete wasteoids.

I'm not in USA, so can't speak for you. But here in UK it is accepted that schools were, and remain, designed to produce well behaved consumers and workers.

Re: Maybe you should learn something

#136

Post by Waterluvian » Sat, Jul 04, 2026, 3:27 PM UTC

I need a benevolent alien to force me out of my rut when I’m in one. I had no problems as a kid because I had little choice at times, like the weekends where I was going to learn how to put siding on a cottage or plumb a bathroom, even though I wanted to play Zelda more than anything. I hated those summers and now that I’m a homeowner, I am deeply thankful for them.

Literally an hour ago my 7 and 9 year olds came to mom and I and said, “thank you for disabling YouTube. We are having so much fun.” I know this sounds like a fake Donald Trump kind of story but I swear to god it just happened.

Re: Maybe you should learn something

#137

Post by cocoto » Sat, Jul 04, 2026, 3:28 PM UTC

bilsbie wrote: post #62

forgotusername6 wrote: post #39

There's really a feeling now pushing back against learning in general. The feeling is that it is pointless since technology would just do it for you. When I started learning Chinese a friend just wouldn't stop talking about how the latest airpods will just be able to translate for you. It was really rather demoralising. But there is still something incredibly rewarding about having that knowledge in your own head and…

> The feeling is that it is pointless since technology would just do it for you. Why walk or jog of the car can do it for you?

Maybe because these is an obvious benefit of physical exercises and that there are no health benefits to learn a new topic after having already exhausted your brain sitting +7 hours at work?

Re: Maybe you should learn something

#138

Post by bebe9494i4 » Sat, Jul 04, 2026, 3:29 PM UTC

purpleflashing wrote: post #46

bebe9494i4 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Can you share how AI helps here? I am learning a bit of 3D modeling in Blender so I can mod games that I like (just for private use), I do get stuck sometimes on the silliest things and Blender docs don’t help, but neither did LLMs tbf when I tried to troubleshoot issues with them. I wonder how I can make it a bit less tedious.

[flagged]

Re: Maybe you should learn something

#139

Post by titzer » Sat, Jul 04, 2026, 3:29 PM UTC

HexPhantom wrote: post #16

One thing I wish this emphasized more is that adults often confuse learning with consuming material about learning, which is why my useful rule has become: if I'm not producing errors, I'm probably not practicing yet

Knowing is input and skills are output. If you can't produce some kind of output in response to input, you've got a nice imagination but no skills.

Re: Maybe you should learn something

#140

Post by wavemode » Sat, Jul 04, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC

The key is to find something that you enjoy sucking at. I recently picked up quad rollerskating and the process of getting steadier and smoother at it (while just enjoying the vibes, music and community at my local rink) has become an obsession. It's my new third-favorite hobby (after programming and competitive cornhole).