Ask HN: What can I learn right now that'll benefit me forever | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What can I learn right now that'll benefit me forever

24 pointsamerf126 comments

Share a lesson you learnt. I understand you may have a story to share, but keep it simple, down to the lesson you learnt or the experience in a nutshell

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If a certain technology is very interesting/promising, then stop wasting large amount of time on Reddit/HN seeking advice/opinions about _whether_ you should learn it or not. Instead, find 3 or 4 hours to finish some introductory tutorials to actually get to know the thing.

This 3 hour work will relieve you from weeks, even months, of uncertainty/lurking, not to mention the possible anxiety due to not understanding people's conversations. By the end of the 3 or 4 hour studying, you actually learned something, and can decide confidently on your next moves.

For example, as a Vim user, I always wanted to learn Emacs, and god know how much time I have wasted in reading those fun editor war threads. Last month in one evening I finally installed it, finished the built-in tutorial in 2 hours. Then I installed Spacemacs which has been hot recently, I spent another 2 hours playing around, learning how to configure it. In 4 hours I gained a pretty solid idea about Emacs' setup, how to do common tasks, some useful packages, including the annoyingly frequently mentioned Org-mode (ok, it is indeed powerful, e.x., the calendar thing is pretty rad). Emacs is extensible for sure, but I know I don't have time to learn it now. I also know in the future I will start with default Emacs, not Spacemacs, if I renew my learning.

Anyway, I have this problem of waiting and lurking. IMO spending a few hours finishing one or two tutorials _today_ is a much better approach than weeks/months of evaluating through reading Reddit/HN posts. For example, even if you apply this method conservatively -- once every 15 days, you will accumulate _hands-on_ knowledge on more than 20 new technologies in a year.

This is really helpful, its been bouncing around in my head a lot often and this post convinced me I'm going to spend the weekend going through that rails book that everyone recommends even though I'm trying to make a nodejs app right now.

Yeah, I was curious about React, spent the next two days of non stop just learning it, and haven't looked back. I use it for a lot of my web app projects now and it's been great.

I do feel annoyed by people who get caught up in the hype and say "we'll use react on our stack" when they don't even know what React is. I just point them to the facebook tutorial.

Learn how to manage your money so that you control your lifestyle, rather than letting it control you. Start simple by keeping track of your expenses, then develop a budget so that you aren't spending all of your money every month. Eventually you'll get to the point where you have the option to do what you enjoy in life rather than feeling like you're trapped on an endless treadmill.

If you want something to do right this minute, just start working with Mint or You Need a Budget (depending on how automated you want things).

Next, figure out what it means to "have enough to retire" (and why it has nothing really to do with age).

Speed-reading of nonfiction. It is possible to double or triple reading speed in a short time (days/weeks of intermittent practice).

Expansion of vocabulary and etymology by reading "old" books and papers: changes the "resolution", precision and context of thought.

Filtering of "content" into timeless classics (of which there are several centuries of reading) and likely timeless future classics. Much can be ignored. Social network analysis can cluster related material for inclusion, exclusion and comparative analysis of bias.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brettnelson/2012/06/04/do-you-re...

Learn how to sell. All of life is sales, from job interviews to convincing your boss to go with X solution instead of Y.

Eat healthy. I know you think you know this, everyone does. Yet, everyone eats like no tomorrow. People as young as 30yo get very sick because of a poor diet and a lack of self-discipline. You don't want to ruin half of your life for a bunch of donuts and hamburgers.

I learnt that in a workplace, be replaceable. As ironic as it sounds, that will keep you the job (along with your other great qualities). For a developer, keep your code clean, organized, COMMENTED. Have documentation.

Being replaceable is obviously important for career advancement. If you can't be replaced at your current position, how can you be promoted to a higher position, to a more interesting project, ect?

This is very true.

I recently left a position as a developer where I may have been considered irreplaceable by some. I had worked with some systems and websites for so long I became a fixture of this organization.

When opportunities and change were presented to me from higher-ups in my organization my direct supervisors took it upon themselves to do everything in their power to prevent it. It wasn't pretty, there was plenty of drama, guilt, and even some underhandedness. Needless to say I found a new position ASAP.

In my new position I'm replaceable. I believe that if I left today someone could take my place relatively easily. However, I'm much happier and it's refreshing to feel like I have mobility in my career again.

Always keep an open mind.

I had this problem that when knowing from others that things I have known are basically incorrect but wouldn't wholeheartedly accept it, given how factually their proof is. Whenever you need to correct yourself, analyze it and be ready to unlearn.

Always remember, there are dragons in earth and you haven't seen it. Yet.

If a music in a club/concert feels like it's too loud, it probably is. Leave before you damage your hearing permanently.

Plan ahead, bring earplugs. There are some that don't affect frequency response too drastically, so they won't ruin the music. Etymotic High Fidelity earplugs aren't too expensive.

Proper sitting posture is something you can pick up in the next hour and its benefits can be felt for the rest of your life.

Stay hungry, stay passionate, stay focused, be respectful. Life really is short. We all make mistakes. Forgive yourself, forgive other people. Work hard/smart enough so at the very least you aren't a burden on others, and at most, you can take care of others. We are all in this together. And learn how to code! :)

Economics In One Lesson – Henry Hazlitt

Short, simple read that forever enables you to unspin the nonsense surrounding you.

Available at: https://mises.org/sites/default/files/Economics%20in%20One%2...

Learning another language(preferably a popular one) is always a good investment.

I learned to let go, gave me the gift of less suffering.

How to politely and firmly ask for what you want.

Protect your hearing and your vision.

Put your money into low cost index funds with dividends reinvested.

Learn How to say NO.

And the importance of it. Saying NO often allows you to say YES when it matters.

I know enough to know that I don't know enough.

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