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Stuff I Learnt in 2019

bollu.github.io

21–29 of 29 posts

Re: Stuff I Learnt in 2019

#21

IIUC this entire blog is one long README.md, sorted by recency. I understand that it makes it easier for the author to post but it's not the most user-friendly.

Do you have a better recommendation for ease of use v/s easy to browse? What do you think of having an auto-generated "table of contents" page? Does that sound good?

Re: Stuff I Learnt in 2019

#22

Maybe you could fit in some Category Theory in 2020.

Hey, author here! I do know some category theory, as I dabble with Haskell. Another motivation for me to study more algebraic topology & geometry is to see category theory in the setting where it was originally developed. Do you have recommendations for what results from Category Theory proved fruitful for you?

Re: Stuff I Learnt in 2019

#23
post #21

IIUC this entire blog is one long README.md, sorted by recency. I understand that it makes it easier for the author to post but it's not the most user-friendly.

Do you have a better recommendation for ease of use v/s easy to browse? What do you think of having an auto-generated "table of contents" page? Does that sound good?

That would definitely help. I understand you though: writing is hard and it makes sense to want as little friction as possible.

Re: Stuff I Learnt in 2019

#24
post #22

Maybe you could fit in some Category Theory in 2020.

Hey, author here! I do know some category theory, as I dabble with Haskell. Another motivation for me to study more algebraic topology & geometry is to see category theory in the setting where it was originally developed. Do you have recommendations for what results from Category Theory proved fruitful for you?

For me as a programmer, it helps me to think more abstract about the problems that come up. I apply CT similar to the way other programmers apply object-oriented design patterns. I think it's a great framework of thought.

Re: Stuff I Learnt in 2019

#25
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you hate about it?

It sounds like an "ain't" version of learned. I just read this from Grammarly: "Learnt and learned are both used as the past participle and past tense of the verb to learn. Learned is the generally accepted spelling in the United States and Canada, while the rest of the English-speaking world seems to prefer learnt." Apparently I'm an egocentric American.

Yeah, we were taught "learnt" in school (British English).

Re: Stuff I Learnt in 2019

#27
post #20

Some kind of focus would do this young man well. Also thinking how to turn that all information into action or outcomes.

What would you recommend I focus on? I personally work on compilers as part of research, so that's "focus". My current broad goal is to learn all the parts of math that I feel might wind up becoming useful for applied math in the next 50-60 years. So no arithmetic geometry, yes algebraic geometry.

Biology. Bio informatics is going to be important in the next decade.

Re: Stuff I Learnt in 2019

#29
@bollu, Congratulations! Impressive year by any measure.

Could you go into some detail with your learning process?

Such as how much time do you have to pursue all these subjects? How you manage and allocate that time?

Maybe provide a case study of your approach to reading 'Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms'? how long did it take you to finish this book?

Do you typically complete all the exercises in the books you read? Do you try to reproduce each paper?

And any other relevant details you think might help others to "learn" quicker would be appreciative.

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