271
Beware the Casual Polymath
We live in times of great disaggregation, and yet, seem to learn increasingly from generalists. In the past, an expert in one field of Psychology might have been forced to teach a broad survey class.
Topics /
Life, Learning & Writing
The most popular blog posts about life, learning & writing on Hacker News. 615 posts.
272
The Amish health care system
I. Amish people spend only a fifth as much as you do on health care, and their health is fine. What can we learn from them? A reminder: the Amish are a German religious sect who immigrated to colon…
273
What’s the best non-smart TV sold today?
With the industry-wide transition to smart TVs many of us have felt like there is no option but to get one. And the walls are closing in -- it seems like almost every TV sold today is a smart one, which means a lack of control of what's happening on our device, the possibility of
274
A Failure, but Not of Prediction
I. Vox asks What Went Wrong With The Media’s Coronavirus Coverage? They conclude that the media needs to be better at “not just saying what we do know, but what we don’t know”. This rai…
275
Why the iPhone Timer app displays a fake time
While building a timer app I came across a peculiarity with displaying time and found out that the iPhone timer addresses it by showing you a fake time.
276
On the destruction of America’s best high school
[C]hildren with special abilities and skills need to be nourished and encouraged. They are a national treasure. Challenging programs for the “gifted” are sometimes decried as “eli…
277
278
279
Things I Learnt in 2020
For the past six months I have been sending out a weekly newsletter with things I learnt and read during the week. Some of those trivia are not trivial at all, so I decided to share the condensed crème de la crème of the Internet in this New Year special edition.
280
The Most Common Errors in Undergraduate Mathematics (2009)
This page describes the errors that I have seen most frequently in undergraduate mathematics, the likely causes of those errors, and their remedies.
281
Anxiety as an algorithm
Founder, Investor, Author
282
283
C.I.A. Lacing (2014)
Tutorial for C.I.A. Lacing shoes, in which straight segments are interpersed with one or more visible crossovers at different positions as a form of covert signalling.
284
Do I need to go to university?
Instead of asking “Is university good?”, ask “Do I have something more compelling to do?”. Instead of “Should I do a PhD?”, ask “Where can I find the best environment to grow as a researcher?”.
285
286
287
I used the internet to painlessly relearn a foreign language
Things are totally different than when I first learnt Spanish back in 2003.
288
SEO lessons learned by writing a blog post every day for two years
5 SEO lessons learned by writing 1 blog post every day for 2 years
289
290
Taking Up Animation as a Hobby
Whatever else happens, you made a movie... Nobody can take that away. A hundred years from now, when we're all dead and gone, people will be watching this fucking thing.
291
You're enlightened – now what?
Suppose you are enlightened.
292
Beginner's Guide to Arguing Constructively
How to turn arguments from vicious battles into productive dialogues.
293
Math is an insurance policy
We live in interesting times. For instance, we are witnessing several extinction events all at once. One of them is the massive extinction of species. The other is the extinction of jobs. Both are …
294
295
How to Find Focus
I’ve had an easy time being focused lately. I say no to obligations or opportunities that I would have easily accepted before. I have fewer things on my todo list, which means I get to spend more time on the few things that I’ve said yes to when I sit down to be creative. I also have a stronger sense of my values …
296
297
Blog Anonymously
Hi, my name is Adam Ramirez. I am a UX Designer who focuses on Design Facilitation and Product Analytics with 10 years of experience under my belt. In the past 5 years, I have been working to deliver the best possible user experience to my clients and their users.
298
299
300
On Being a Generalist
Should you be a specialist or a generalist developer? My take on the trade-offs of each path, why I chose to be a generalist, and what you gain and give up.