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Ask HN: What advice would you give to your younger self?

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Re: Ask HN: What advice would you give to your younger self?

#71

Post by fallinghawks »

- Adults lie, or don't understand, or just don't want to deal. You were recommended not to proceed in math beyond Algebra I, even though you'd gotten a B. You (wisely) thought that was bunkum and continued on to Alg II and geometry, number theory, set theory, matrix theory, etc and ended up with a Bachelor's in computer science. Good call.

- That stupid counselor who blithely told you to "be confident"? You had no idea what those words meant, much less how to do it, because you didn't understand how to see the things you learned & accomplished as skills that other people don't have. That seems weirdly egotistical, I know, but confidence is knowing you know how to do stuff, and that knowledge is special.

- Don't stagnate. Past conditions are not an indicator of future conditions.

- Learn how to congratulate yourself and learn to like yourself sooner than I did.

Re: Ask HN: What advice would you give to your younger self?

#72

Post by trumpet1 »

realize that high school band could teach you everything you need. If you wanted to move up a chair, understand what it takes and master that. When you were set up for a challenge(the method used to move up a chair) you basically looked at all the required music and figured out which was the section the you would have to play. The Challenge was set up so that the instructor would listen to both players play the section selected, from another room, and decide who performed the best. That's how it is in life...and it has worked well for me.

Re: Ask HN: What advice would you give to your younger self?

#74

Post by kazinator »

k__ wrote: post #70
sitkack wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only way to learn Lisp, is to write a Lisp.

On the other hand, people tell me that writing a Lisp is one of the easier language endeavors.

Sure, but those people tend to be convinced that the job is done when (+ 1 1) evaluates to 2. Ask them whether their lexical variables are properly shadowing symbol macros, and you will likely get a blank stare.

"a Lisp" is not quite the same thing as "a fully conforming implementation of a mature reference standard, like ANSI Common Lisp or, or R6RS Scheme or what have you".

Re: Ask HN: What advice would you give to your younger self?

#76

Post by kleer001 »

mtreis86 wrote: post #12
mmmm wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People often talk down on sex, I've noticed. Why is that so? Is it because people can use sex as an excuse to procrastinate?

I think it is because a lot of people waste a lot of time thinking and fantasizing instead of living. And a lot of that thinking, especially recurring thoughts, is sexual in nature.

AND sacrificing time/resources on what should most likely be categorized as entertainment is a bad idea.

Re: Ask HN: What advice would you give to your younger self?

#78

Post by ColCh »

jmartinpetersen wrote: post #15

People who don't know you, do not care about what you do. Stop worrying about their opinion. Most people who know you, do care. Show you care for them. The impostor syndrome is real and you may have it. Do not take rejection personally. Never stop cycling. You always look stupid in hindsight and your current you seems to know everything. This never changes.

> You always look stupid in hindsight and your current you seems to know everything. This never changes.

Wow I faced this many times.I thought this only happened to me.

Thank you for this insight!

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