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Writing code doesn't mix well with oration
Why writing code live on stage is a bad idea, and what to do instead.
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Life, Learning & Writing
The most popular blog posts about life, learning & writing on Hacker News. 225 posts.
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Learn to Code, It's Harder Than You Think
TL;DR: All the evidence shows that programming requires a high level of aptitude that only a small percentage of the population possess. The...
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The Time Needed to Write “Effective Modern C++”
Initial cover design. Nobody asked me about the writing of Effective Modern C++ (EMC++), but I wanted to talk about it a little, so ...
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A better way to teach technical skills to a group
Thank for you sharing this method – it sounds great, and I’m keeping it mind for the next time I have to do some teaching like this (which doesn’t come up so often for me).
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“Nothing you can do impresses me”
Because of the urgent need for new blood / ideas in the tech world, our lack of ability to reward new developers is a particularly profound example of shooting oneself in the foot.
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How to destroy special collections with social media
I just got back from a wonderful trip to Rare Book School to deliver a talk in their 2015 lecture series. It was the last week of their summer season in Charlottesville, the week when the Descriptive Bibliography course (aka “boot camp”) was in full swing, and the weather was in all its hot, glorious humidity. I…
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Google Photos – Can I get out?
But it begs the question: what happens with my photos once I hand them over? Should I want to move elsewhere, what are my options?
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What you wanted to know about AI
Recently a number of famous people, including Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, warned everybody about the dangers of machine intelligence. …
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I Tried VR and It Was Just OK
It’s been about a year and a half since I wrote The Road to VR, and a… few… things have happened since then. * Facebook bought Oculus for a skadillion dollars * I have to continually read thinkpieces describing how the mere act of strapping a VR headset on your face
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You’ll Always Miss Being in the Basement
Written pieces, talks, and other bits by Zach Holman.
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So you want to abolish time zones
Laudable! Let's take a look at some of the changes that arise from this, through a simple case study: making an international phone call to a relative. Before abolishing time zones I want to call my Uncle Steve in Melbourne. What time is it there? Google tells me it is currently...
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Across the USA by Train for Just $213
Turns out, you don’t need a car to see America.
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What Would You Recommend to a Bright 14 Year Old?
I'm receiving lots of recommendations via the HN item, I will need to vet and categorise them, but they are mostly looking great. Here, unvetted and uncategorised are some:
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Shoelace knots
List of different knots for shoelace tying speed, simplicity, security or style.
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Computer Science by Mail
Hypothetically, how would you teach Computer Science or programming to someone who has no access to a computer, and with whom your only communication is books and postal mail?
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Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning (2010)
Translations: – العربية – Norsk 汉语 – tiếng Việt – Español – Italiano – Français – Magyar – Português – română – Deutsch – Suomi – Svenska – Čeština – Русско – Íslenska – Nederlands – ελληνικά – עברית – Audio Version
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The Expert in a Year Challenge
The Expert in a Year Challenge took place in 2014 and followed novice table tennis player Sam Priestley's journey from complete beginner to mastery.