Ask HN: How to stay motivated reading textbooks? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to stay motivated reading textbooks?

15 pointsLZ_Khan13 comments

Hi HN,

I am working on improving my competencies in certain fields such as AI, statistics, and VR. To do so, I've decided to buy a bunch of textbooks in those fields as well as foundational textbooks (mostly math books).

The problem I'm having is I am having trouble connecting some of the content in the book with a tangible end result. For example, I have difficulty staying focused learning about certain theorems in a linear algebra textbook when I can't see myself ever using the theorems in real life.

Do you guys have any advice on how to stay motivated? Or perhaps how to learn these subject areas avoiding these "time pitfalls" (are they even pitfalls)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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A question to clarify: if you can’t see yourself using the information/theorems you are studying and you aren’t motivated on a particular topic, why are you investing the time? Secondly, many textbooks are tedious and not particularly useful for self study. HN has numerous threads discussing the best textbooks in a variety of subjects. I have found these threads quite useful in selecting textbooks to review. Not to sound critical but perhaps your self study program needs a more orderly curriculum. Again, numerous threads here and elsewhere address paths to acquire the requisite knowledge.

For me textbooks are the worst form of learning and I mostly learn by projects. For AI, build your NN framework from scratch, for statistics, find interesting datasets and perform the analyses you learn about on them. Math can be a little tougher, but my favourite part is applying it to problems I wouldn't know how to do without knowing it. For example with basic linear algebra, you could program a super basic 3d visualizer.

Also, a lot of textbooks I've encountered have a huge problem with the initial motivational part and jump straight into proving stuff which does not seem useful. Maybe try Coursera or Khan academy for the intro and then read the book after you get the basic.

Maybe couple your learning with free online courses, like the aws training at the following url?

https://explore.skillbuilder.aws/

i couldn't imagine learning this stuff from a textbook without exercises and more to do.

at least the videos here talk about examples, and build a context by talking about types of tools you might use, how to use them, etc.

i started looking into the intro to Data Science course thing, and damn -- i had no idea -- i was completely lost -- it was like a foreign language.

so i started flipping back and forth between it and free courses on youtube, wiki and other pages to explain basic statistics, which apparently i do not know/remember. just having multiple different people teach the same concepts in different ways seemed to help a bit, and actually learning and getting more familiar with all the lingo helped (get things to be more interesting).

all that said, i've pretty much decided i am _not_ going to pursue any serious data science-related jobs (i'm looking at the moment).

i _could_ potentially still look into some roles which don't require a mastery and love of all things data science, but i am somewhat confident already that i'm not interested in this stuff, even if i had some magical practice-exercise world to help keep things interesting/practical.

so maybe that's a non-answer? that is, don't do it, don't worry about it, don't stay motivated, and don't keep studying boring stuff -- like is too short. go thru all the textbooks at least once to get familiar, then start diving down on just the topics you seem to actually care about.

and/or use a Pomodoro timer. i sometimes use the following Chrome extension to plow thru various boring content in short bursts, then reward myself somehow after:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pomodoro-chrome-ex...

A simple one is to do the exercises in the book, if it has them. With textbooks especially, I find that it's easy to tune out when trying to read them. In school, it was doing assignments that gave me the motivation to go in and actively search for information. If you are reading it with trying to answer a question in mind, it may be easier to stay engaged

This is my favorite list of learning tips: http://super-memory.com/articles/20rules.htm

It's more for memorization, but rule 1 applies. You can't learn something if you're not interested and the value of learning such a thing is negligible.

What I always do is associate it with a thing. It should be a conversation. You can also be reading things in the wrong order... sometimes you should try to be stuck on a different problem before approaching the problem with linear algebra and such. Learning linear algebra before meeting the problem is a terrible way to learn.

You can still learn with exercises to turn it into an instinct, similar to how kids learn ABCs and multiplication tables. But as you grow older, this becomes much less effective.

When I did a course of self study on subjects I found difficult, it helped to appreciate the merest shades of progress that would result from study. For me, it was like music, a subject I am much better versed in than mathematics, where to notice an animating aspect of what has been a matter of routine can slowly piece together an understanding of the mechanics. Appreciate the static elements of study and the animated whole will begin to take shape.

> I am having trouble connecting some of the content in the book with a tangible end result

Not to sound rude, but that sounds like a child complaining in a boring class.

> Do you guys have any advice on how to stay motivated?

Treat it like a job. Show up on time and do the work regardless of if want to or not. Set a time you will accomplish your micro goals you've cut up from your macro goals. Have a small treat when you do so. Be patient with yourself.

> like a child complaining in a boring class

Trouble connecting content being learned and the high level goal of the class is part and parcel of the learning experience. To say "I don't know" is the fundamental idiom of the student. Yes, that happens. All the time. To everyone who wants to learn.

But for that lack of understanding to be the cause of losing momentum is a preventable tragedy. Especially as a self learner and especially in such a well documented subject with such a friendly community. It betrays a poor attitude of entitlement. That's where I think the problem lies, not in the material it's self. Why? Because it's trivial to do a search on "How does XYZ pertain to the subject of ABC?"

Simply, don't read anything that is dulling your brain. At the very least learn to skim so not to drown in the information overload that constitutes large chunks of the Web. There is just too much good literature out there to have "to learn" to focus on some schmuck's badly written ramblings.

I've found it helpful to walk while I read difficult material. It makes it harder for me to turn to a distracting website. When I get tired I stop reading and enjoy the scenery for a couple minutes, which helps me feel a little refreshed.

Sometimes I plan to walk somewhere a few hours away. That way I have to keep going.

How do you avoid running into things if you are reading while walking? How do you take notes?

Try working backwards. If there are specific things you want to learn in those fields, work out what their dependencies are and focus on those. It would be best to have baseline level of understanding on the fundamentals though.

Just google content of your textbooks? you can easily find history of why mathematician develop which part.

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